Seven things we are still talking about after Taylor Swift's Eras Tour ...

"I haven’t played a show in Dublin in over five years,” she said.

"And I know you know this, but nobody does it like you. We’re a couple of songs into this very long show, and I’m already seeing people in the audience who should be getting awards for their performance. Not only do you know the words, you’re screaming them!"

The following night, she keeps telling us there's nowhere else she'd rather be than a sold out stadium in Dublin on a Saturday night, and on Sunday she says "we've never played for crowds on this level". And we'd believe her - we've never heard a crowd this loud.

Almost every Eras Tour survival guide says it is the loudest show you will ever go to, and that’s probably not an exaggeration. One moment in particular stood out at the Dublin shows for the rising noise levels when the crowd reached deafening levels.

‘Champagne Problems’ from her evermore album is a beloved track for fans and on this tour in particular, its become the song that tends to inspire the longest applause. On Friday night, the two-minute-long applause became ear-splitting, by Saturday and Sunday, it had extended beyond three-minutes. 

Chants of 'Taylor, Taylor' and 'Olé, Olé, Olé’ were added as Swift looked genuinely astonished by the reaction, taking out her earpiece to fully embrace the moment. 

You didn’t need to be an expert lip-reader either to understand what Taylor was saying to her band: “Are you guys hearing this too? Wow!” 

2. The Irish phrases in 'We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together'

Taylor's orange and green ensemble during the 1989 era. Picture: Charles McQuillan/TAS24/Getty Images 

There were plenty of Irish references throughout Swift's three night residency at the Aviva, but our favourite might have come from Swift's dancer Kameron Saunders.

The first Irish nod came during the Red era on night one with a cúpla focal during ‘We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together’. 

“Póg mo thoin” was inserted into the lyrics by dancer Kameron Saunders, who has been tweaking it with a phrase native to each city they are in.  On night two, he proclaimed "The neck of ye!" while on night three he delighted audiences with 'Bleedin eejit!'.

We were also treated to a nice 'haon, dó, trí, ceathair' countdown in ‘I Can Do It With A Broken Heart’ on each night with Swift changing into a green and orange sequin ensemble for her 1989 era on nights one and three. 

Paramore too got in on the grá, with singer Hayley Williams sporting a Cranberries tee on stage on Friday and a Sinéad O'Connor one on Saturday.

3. Folklore 'belongs' to Ireland 

Taylor Swift in the Lovers Era. Picture: Chani Anderson

While in her Folklore era on Friday, Swift again started praising Ireland (she really, really likes us), this time paying tribute to our rich history of storytelling.

“Irish people are such great storytellers. The folklore from Ireland is unmatched,” she said.

"I think it might be 50/50. 50% they're great storytellers and 50% they just have the best accents."

She also revealed on Saturday that Ireland was the "official" home for her 2020 album folklore. 

"When I was making the album, it was two days into the pandemic that I started writing folklore, and I wasn't in Ireland, so I had to create an album where the imaginary world that I pretended to go every single day when I was writing it, gotta be honest, it kinda seemed like Ireland. 

"So we're back where we belong. Conceptually, folklore, we can all agree, just belongs with you guys."

4. No Reputation (Taylor's version) announced 

Taylor Swift taking an extended pause between songs to soak up the love from her adoring audience. Picture: Chani Anderson

Fans were in a frenzy as rumours grew that we could expect an album re-record announcement during Swift’s Irish tour dates. As she makes her way through her back catalogue, many are interpreting what they believe are clues from the singer, who famously leaves cryptic clues about upcoming projects littered throughout her performances, social media, and pretty much anything else she touches.

Every gesture on the tour has been pored over and fans were convinced Reputation (Taylor's Version) would be revealed at the weekend. The most likely day was Sunday — on June 30, 2019, Scooter Braun bought Big Machine Records, effectively becoming the owner of all of Swift’s music, prompting her to undertake the re-recording of all her music. Announcing another release on that date would just be good ‘Karma’.

But, alas, it wasn't to be. On Sunday night, the audience was full of Reputation-inspired outfits, and when she donned a black and silver jacket during 'The Man', and a black and silver dress during the Fearless era, fans were really 'clowning' to use Swiftie parlance. We suppose she couldn't really embrace her snake era in a country known for getting the snakes out, right? 

5. Dublin's iconic surprise sets

A big talking point of the tour is the acoustic set. Here, Swift performs between two and four songs, and every night is a surprise. She rarely plays the same songs twice, but Ireland broke the mould - and even got the first live performance of three (!!) new tracks.

On Friday night, Swift played ‘State of Grace’ on the guitar, the opening track from Red and mashed it up with ‘You're On Your Own Kid’, the song with the iconic lyric "so make the friendship bracelets".

Next, we were back to the piano for 'Sweet Nothing', a song with a direct reference to her time in Ireland: “Does it ever miss Wicklow sometimes?" She blended the track with 'Hoax' from Folklore, making it the first time she played that track live.

Saturday's audience was also treated to a song she says she's never done live before, 'The Albatross', off the anthology edition of her last album, The Tortured Poets Department. Maybe she picked it for the lyric "and when that sky rains fire on you" - thankfully though, the rain had dried up before she took to the stage that night. She mashed it up with 'Dancing With Our Hands Tied'  from Reputation, before moving to the piano for a gorgeous mash-up of 'This Love' from her 1989 album and 'Ours' from Speak Now.

On Sunday night, Stevie Nicks was in the house, and the entire surprise set seemed to be in her honour.

Swift dedicated 'Clara Bow', a song which mentions Nicks by name, to her 'friend' and 'hero' in the VIP tent, and mashed it up with 'The Lucky One' from the Red era, another song about a girl who makes it big. She then played 'You're On Your Own Kid' for a second time, the first time she's repeated the same song twice in the one city on The Eras Tour. This rarity is likely to have occurred because of Nicks, who has previously said that song helped her process the passing of her friend and Fleetwood Mac bandmate Christine McVie. Swift played the song straight through on night three with no mashup.

6. Travis Kelce's surprise appearance 

Over the course of the weekend, a number of celebrities were spotted in the VIP tent, located beside the standing area on the Aviva’s pitch. On Sunday night, the likes of Stevie Nicks and Julia Roberts were rubbing shoulders, while over the course of the weekend fans shared photos and videos of Irish celebrities they saw in the stadium such as Graham Norton, Ryan Tubridy, Jedward, and  Father Ted's Ardal O’Hanlon.

Ireland's sporting legends were also getting in on the action.

Amy Huberman shared a photo on her Instagram at the show alongside three former captains of Irish rugby, including husband Brian O’Driscoll, Rory Best and Johnny Sexton, while Shane Lowry attended with his wife and seven year old daughter. 

But by far the most exciting guest of all was Swift's boyfriend Travis Kelce.

The Kansas City Chiefs tight-end has appeared at numerous shows throughout the European leg of The Eras Tour, but hadn't been spotted at Friday or Saturday's shows in Dublin.

But on Sunday night, the 34-year-old waltzed through the crowd during Swift's folklore/evermore era, smiling and waving at fans as he made his way to the VIP box.

His arrival led to mania in the stands as fans shouted and pointed, the news reaching fans around the stadium like a kind of Mexican wave. 

Swift appeared to look shocked at his arrival and fans believe she may have been taken by surprise as Kelce is thought to have been at a wedding in the United States just the day prior.

Here is dual shot I made of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce first locking eyes at his surprise appearance at Dublin N3???????????? pic.twitter.com/9KRpm0NIvA

— Da????Otterside (@DaOtterside) July 1, 2024

Some lucky fans even spotted Kelce and Swift leaving the arena after the show and were treated to waves and smiles from the pair. 

7. Where Taylor was outside of the Aviva

Swift has managed to stay completely under the radar outside of her time on stage while in Dublin.

But rumours fly, as Swift would say herself...

One such rumour is that she was staying in the Adare Manor,target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"> while another is that she was in The Westbury in Dublin. While Swift herself wasn't pictured at either location, we do know there was a heavy security presence around The Westbury and her entourage, at least, is believed to have stayed at the stunning Dublin five-star.

????| Taylor, Travis, Stevie Nicks, Paramore and her crew were all out to celebrate the Dublin shows at Hacienda Bar last night. pic.twitter.com/QXl202IQN4

— Taylor Swift Updates ???? (@swifferupdates) July 1, 2024

As for how she celebrated after wrapping her three night stint on Sunday? Hacienda Bar on Dublin's Mary Street claims she was in their establishment, but they opted not to request a pic.

The bar say she celebrated with her boyfriend Travis Kelce, Stevie Nicks and her opening act, Nashville band Paramore. 

8. Taylormania 

It has to be said, Taylormania well and truly took over Dublin city. 

In the past week, many stores had carefully curated window displays hinting at the stars arrival, with Taylor-themed t-shirts, jackets and more cowboy boots than a country startlet could ever need. 

The excitement really started building on Thursday as hundreds of fans queued to enter the official Taylor Swift merchandise store at the 3Arena. Ever since then, the city was full of people walking the streets, on public transport or eating and drinking out wearing a piece of Eras tour memorabilia. Ahead of the gigs, this was compounded by people wearing sparkles and sequins, cowboy boots and adhesive pearls in their hair and on their faces.

On many corners in the city centre, outside train stations and near the Aviva, vendors were selling cowboy hats, ponchos, feather boas and friendship bracelets.

Most fans heading to the concerts had arms full of friendship bracelets, most carefully crafted by themselves and friends. Fans bought so many beads that Dublin sellers noticed an increase in sales from months prior to the show. Yellow Brick Road, a bead shop on Bachelors Walk, said: “It started many months ago with the majority of letter beads, seed beads and Stretch Magic cord sales happening in the last week or two.

“All materials are being sought by diehard Swifties to make Friendship Bracelets ahead of the Dublin leg of the Eras Tour this June.” There were a number of Swift-themed brunches and afterparties on to celebrate the star, and even regular club nights played hits from her discography to ensure everyone got to experience a bit of Swiftie magic.