Dublin, Ireland. Photo Credit: Alexandre Contador
22 years after its founding, ticketing platform Tickets.ie has abruptly shut down – leaving some organizers unable to access revenue from their newly concluded festivals.
Unsurprisingly, Dublin-headquartered Tickets.ie’s demise initially entered the media spotlight in Ireland. And in keeping with the “abrupt” descriptor, regional outlets appear to have learned of the news via a message posted on the company’s website homepage.
“Oshi Software Limited, trading as Tickets.ie, has ceased trading and the directors are taking steps to place the company into liquidation and appoint a liquidator over the company,” said message reads. “The winding up is being conducted in accordance with the Companies Acts.”
Absent from the brief note are the precise reasons for the seemingly unexpected development. While ongoing live-sector challenges are hardly a secret – professionals, venues, and festivals are facing obstacles – Tickets.ie has belonged to Germany’s DEAG Entertainment since 2022.
And far from feeling the pinch, DEAG, like certain other well-established live players, is posting “record” financials – to the tune of €400 million (currently $465 million) in forecasted revenue for the present fiscal year.
DEAG is also firing off investments, including recent deals for stakes in Frankfurt promoter Wizard Live and EDM festival Airbeat One, to name a couple.
Per its days-old earnings report, containing no mention of Tickets.ie’s now-evident difficulties, the Berlin-based business had moved “more than 4.7 million tickets for concerts and events in 2026 and 2027” as of March 31st. Those numbers aside, Tickets.ie itself was evidently struggling.
According to his LinkedIn profile, founder John O’Neill stepped away as Tickets.ie’s CEO in February 2025 before establishing a company called SeatFair in June of the same year. The newer entity’s core product is billed “as a pricing layer that integrates with existing ticketing systems.”
Back to the shutdown’s abrupt nature, it was only late last month that Tickets.ie was penning social posts about forthcoming events.
As for the impact on ticketholders, the defunct business’s homepage message encourages customers to “wait to hear from the relevant event promoter directly regarding their event.”
On the festival side, Ballinamore’s Cowboys and Heroes wrapped on June 1st, and the ticketing company’s implosion has left organizers unable to withdraw $157,000/€135,000 in due festival-pass payments, The Journal reported.
Between them, the organizers behind Cowboys and Heroes as well as the Rory Gallagher International Festival and Rockathon are seeking a total of $673,000/€580,000 in connection with Tickets.ie’s calling it quits, The Irish Examiner indicated.
Finally, the Fingal County Council is reportedly moving forward with its sold-out Swords Castle Concerts from Nathan Carter and Embrace in July. But a ticketing update “will be issued shortly as preparations continue to ensure another successful event,” the Council said.
