Bruce Springsteen dedicates 'My Hometown' to his 'homies' in Freehold and Ireland
Freehold was in the house, and Bruce Springsteen let the crowd know it.
Springsteen dedicated “My Hometown” to his “homies” of Freehold and Rathangan, the Irish home of his ancestors, at the E Street Band's May 19 concert at Croke Park in Dublin.
Freehold Mayor Kevin Kane also got a special shout out.
“Big night, big night in Dublin,” Springsteen said. “We got the Mayor of Freehold, who's here tonight. My hometown, I got relatives from Rathangan and they're going to twin the two towns together. This is for my homies.”
Check out the dedication and song here on YouTube.
Leaders of Freehold and Rathangan are in the process of formalizing a twin city agreement between the two towns. Rathangan is the ancestral home of multiple Freehold residents, including Springsteen, whose great-great-grandmother Ann Garrity (on his father's side) came to Freehold from Rathangan in 1852.
More: Freehold delegation visits Ireland while Springsteen playing Cork, Dublin
More: Freehold set to become Twin Cities with this Irish town, ancestral home of Springsteen
Reps from Freehold and Rathangan met with Springsteen before the concert.
“He's 1,000 percent behind everything we're doing,” Kane said. “He just loves the idea, and like I told him, this is your story in your words supplemented by all the people, family and friends who grew up with you and around you, and where we're at now. People are going to come from around the world to find out more about our hometown. It's tremendous.”
Freehold will be the future home of the My Hometown: The Bruce Springsteen Story Center, a multipurpose museum and event space at the firehouse, 49 W. Main St. The Bruce Springsteen Archives and Center for American Music at Monmouth University and Freehold are collaborating on the effort, which hopes to open by spring 2026.
More than 82,000 were in attendance at the concert on Sunday, including Brad Pitt, Nick Jonas, Paul Rudd and Bono.
“There were celebrities all over the place and for him to shout out, it's incredible,” Kane said. “It's a once-in-a-lifetime moment.”
Earlier in the week, Kane, Glenn Cashion and other members of the Freehold delegation participated in a copper beech tree planting ceremony in Rathangan. Family lore tells of Gerrity bringing a young copper beech tree from Rathangan and planting it beside the former Springsteen family home at 87 Randolph St. in Freehold.
The twin city resolution will require ratification by the new Kildare council once they are elected in June.
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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 dedicates My Hometown to homies in Freehold
