Today, U2, the world's most popular Irish band--and arguably the world's most popular band--will play in Boston, one of the world's most Irish cities, on Saint Patrick's Day, a decidedly Irish holiday.

And fans of Irish music around Harvard and Boston have been excitedly gearing up for the show.

"The Irish community is sort of killing each other for tickets. It's almost as big a deal as the green card lottery," joked Sean T. Brady, a third-year Irish-American Law school student.

The Boston Police have stepped up security around the Boston Garden, the site of tonight's performance. But Detective George Lotti of the Boston Police Public Relations' Office said he wasn't sure if the increased measures were necessitated by the band's ethnic ties with the Boston Irish community or just the group's general popularity.

Father Dan Finn, of St. Peter's Church in Dorchester, says he has noticed U2's drawing power in Boston's Irish community. When planning his church's St. Patrick's Day noon mass, he realized that the concert would likely be popular with many of the congregation's young people.

He decided to try and link the two events in a "surprise appearance" by one of the band members at his mass.

"I thought, wouldn't it be great if U2 could actually come to the cathedral?" he said. Finn got in touch with the band's manager through a friend, who told him the band was interested. At press time Finn was still waiting to hear from the band.

Finn, who is a U2 fan, said he believes young Irish people should hear the band's message. "A lot of their songs are very much in line with peace in Northern Ireland," Finn said.

Matthew J. McDonald '92, a member of the Irish Cultural Society, said that getting tickets "is next to impossible." He recalls fondly the days when U2 was a small band. McDonald said his first cousin used to watch the band play at the now-defunct bar Metro. In those days, U2 was opening for "some faceless metal band," he said.

"Boston was one of the first cities to open up to them," McDonald added.

That enthusiasm remains strong, according to McDonald, who isn't attending the concert. He reported hearing of tickets being scalped for up to $1000.

The New England U2 promoters only sold tickets over the phone, a move designed to thwart scalpers.

Harvard fans said the new system made getting tickets more difficult because the University phone system only allows for a limited amount of calls to leave the University. Hopeful Harvard students were met with an ominous rapidly-beeping busy signal, an indication that their calls had not left the college phone system.

Michael P. Cole '94 got around the difficulty by having his mother and sister, who live in California, call from there for tickets.

Said Cole: "I think this will be the ultimate St. Patrick's Day as far as we Irish people are concerned."