In case you hadn't noticed, Ireland has been playing host to rock royalty for the past week, as Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band rolled into town for a trio of sold out shows at the RDS in Dublin.
Since he made his live debut on these shore with a Slane Castle show in 1985, Ireland's love affair with The Boss has seen him return on many occasions - he likes to get out and about too, and this particular trip has seen Bruce pop up in some unexpected locations.
Case in point, a trip to Rathangan, Co. Kildare last Thursday to look up his Irish roots (his great-great-grandmother Anne Garrity lived in the Mount Prospect area) complete with a pint in the Burrow Pub, where he treated punters to a sean-nós take on a Springsteen classic.
The Boss is home.
— Matt Dunn🇮🇪 🇺🇦#Mattladd4PM #FBPE #JoinAUnion (@Mattladd1) May 4, 2023
Springsteen visiting my old local The Burrow returning to his family's roots in Rathangan Co Kildare pic.twitter.com/CpqKuthS19
The night before, he dropped by the Dublin residence of another songwriting legend. As Bruce once said to Ryan Tubridy on the Late Late Show, with reference to former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan: "He's the man, you know? I truly believe that a hundred years from now, most of us will be forgotten. But I do believe that Shane's music is going to be remembered and sung. It's just deep in the nature of it".
What an amazing honour and a beautiful experience to get a visit from The Boss!!! @springsteen @ShaneMacGowan Such a truly wonderful man and a total genius! pic.twitter.com/waXwmWOHTZ
— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) May 3, 2023
On a Dublin walkabout on Saturday, Springsteen stopped by Trinity College's fabled library to have a gander at the Book Of Kells...
Before rocking up to his favourite Dublin hostelry, The Long Hall on George's Street...
And wrapping up the afternoon with a feed of chips in another regular haunt, Burdocks in Christchurch.
Never a man to rest on his laurels, he also managed to fit in a recording session in the legendary Windmill Lane Recording Studios.
Not bad for a man of 73...
Such an honour to have THE BOSS @springsteen
— Windmill Lane Recording Studios (@WindmillLaneRec) May 3, 2023
recording in Studio One @WindmillLaneRec
today ahead of his sold-out Dublin concerts.
Photo from left - Greg Clooney, Tony Perrey, Bruce Springsteen, Michael O'Brien & Pat McCaul. pic.twitter.com/1aaixQnZCY
And then there were the shows themselves, which many believe to be among his finest in decades. For all the pomp and glory of the E Street Band in full flight, he sent audiences floating into the night with a tear in their eyes, courtesy of his final encore, a moving acoustic rendition of I'll See You In My Dreams.
After 3 hours of raising the roof, he dims the lights and plays this quiet, heartbreaking song. Fabulous night in the company of #BruceSpringsteen and the #estreetband in Dublin 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/6eQpwQ5SVQ
— Regina Looby (@reglooby) May 7, 2023
