Bruce Springsteen delivers special message to ancestral home in Ireland

Chris Jordan, Asbury Park PressSat, August 22, 2026 at 6:51 PM UTC

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Happy Féile Springsteen day from the Boss.

The residents of Rathangan, Ireland are holding a Féile Springsteen day on Saturday, Aug. 22 to celebrate the Springsteen family’s roots to the town and the Boss himself delivered a video message to the celebrants.

“Hey everybody in Rathangan, from all the way in the USA,” said Bruce Springsteen in a video credited to the Rathangan Freehold Twinning Association. “This is just to congratulate you on the twinning of our two cites and the fabulous planting of the two copper beech trees that will cement the soul bond between us all. I want you to have a great, great celebration. Sending all my love and I hope to see you soon.

“God bless everybody, have fun!”

You can see the video below in this story.

Rathangan is the ancestral home to multiple Freehold residents, including Bruce Springsteen, whose great-great-grandmother on his father's side, Ann Garrity, came to Freehold from Rathangan in 1852. A copper beech tree, planted by Garrity according to town and family lore, stood for more than 100 years at 87 Randolph St., a Springsteen family home.

A planting of a copper beech tree took place July 2 at the Monmouth County Historical Association in Freehold to celebrate the ancestral connection between Freehold and Rathangan, a town in the west of County Kildare, Ireland.

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Springsteen family members, including his two sisters, attended the planting.

“I think it's amazing,” said Virginia Shave, a former resident of 87 Randolph and Springsteen's sister. “I never expected anything like this. I remember that tree so well and we were so sad when it died. So this is a new beginning. All of our kids and our grandkids will be here to see this tree.”

A copper beech tree was previously planted in Rathangan. The two towns were officially twinned in June 2025.

Féile Springsteen will include music, talks, historical tours, art exhibitions, film screenings, competitions and other activities celebrating Springsteen and his links to Rathangan, according to Kildare Live.

Springsteen visited Rathangan in 2023 when on tour in Ireland. He stopped in to a music school and the Burrow, a pub in Rathangan, where he led the ladies of the town in an a cappella version of his 1984 hit, “My Hometown.”

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Bruce Springsteen delivers special message to ancestral home in Ireland

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