Kildare's first ever Féile Springsteen this Saturday

THE FIRST annual Féile Springsteen will take place in Rathangan, on Saturday, 22 August 2026, featuring a full day of music, talks, historical tours, art exhibitions, film screenings, competitions and other activities celebrating legendary musician Bruce Springsteen and his links to Rathangan.

The headline event will be an outdoor concert by The Human Touch, Ireland's first dedicated live tribute band to Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, at The Village Pump at 8pm. The band will be supported by Rathangan's own Hot Cross Dunnes. Admission to this special concert is €15.

The festival will begin at 11am with a talk in Rathangan Library entitled "Bruce Springsteen: Rooted in Rathangan", presented by County Librarian and musician Mario Corrigan. The talk will explore the Irish side of Bruce Springsteen's family history and tell the story of how Springsteen’s great-great grandmother Ann Garrity, at 14-years-old, left Rathangan with her younger sisters aboard the SS Arctic to join her family in Freehold, New Jersey.

Another festival highlight will be a guided walking tour, "Ann Garrity's Rathangan", led by noted historian Larry Fullam at 4pm. Participants will be transported back to Rathangan in 1853, visiting places familiar to Ann, including the church where she was baptised, the Rath and the Grand Canal, where her father worked.

Other events throughout the day will include a Bruce Springsteen look-alike competition, with prizes for the best Bruce, and an opportunity to recreate some of the scenes from Springsteen's visit to Rathangan in 2023 at The Burrow at 7pm.

Ma's Kitchen will host an all-day art exhibition featuring works from the An Scríobhláil Collective and the Freehold Art Group, while a Springsteen-themed film will be screened at the RYARC Centre at 2pm.

All events, with the exception of the evening concert, are free of charge. Advance booking is advised for the library talk and can be made by emailing rathanganlib@kildarecoco.ie.