Bruce Springsteen visits Shane MacGowan ahead of Dublin gigs, meeting with Charlie Bird looks likely

‘The Boss’ will play three sold out shows at the RDS across Friday, Sunday and Tuesday.

Ahead of the highly anticipated performances, Springsteen visited Pogues star McGowan at his south Dublin home.

MacGowan’s long-term partner Victoria Mary Clarke shared a picture of the encounter on Twitter.

In a message attached to the post, Ms Clarke described Springsteen as a “total genius”.

“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,” she wrote.

MacGowan and Ms Clarke have been together for more than 35 years and wed in Copenhagen in 2018.

The singer has been in and out of hospital in recent years due to health complications and uses a wheelchair following accidents in 2016 and 2020.

He now has a full-time carer after he fell and broke his pelvis in 2016 while reportedly doing “a complicated dance move”, according to his wife.

In late 2020, he broke a knee and tore ligaments.

MacGowan has a large following among the Irish communities in both the UK and the US. The singer counts Hollywood actor Johnny Depp among his circle of celebrity friends.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band are regarded as one of the very best live rock acts of all time.

From humble New Jersey beginnings in 1972, they grew in popularity to become one of the true icons of American music.

Hits such as Born In The USA and Dancing In The Dark cemented Springsteen as one of America’s most popular rock vocalists.

He is known as one of the hardest-working acts in the industry, and concerts can regularly last three hours or more.

Those attending the band’s Dublin concerts have been advised to allow plenty of time to travel to the venue, as traffic is expected. They are also encouraged to use public transport wherever possible on Friday, May 5, Sunday, May 7 and Tuesday, May 9.

Many Dublin hotels are booked out and fans are set to deliver an enormous economic boost through spending in bars, restaurants, shops and tour visits.

Springsteen – who claims Irish ancestry through his grandmother’s family, the O’Hagan-Gerritys with links to Mullingar – adores performing in Ireland and has included the country in every European tour since he made his famous debut here at Slane Castle in June 1985.

His daughter Jessica, a US Olympian and award-winning showjumper, has purchased several Irish-bred horses, and Springsteen has travelled to see her compete at the Dublin Horse Show in the RDS.

The Boss recorded his 2007 album,Live in Dublin – Springsteen and the Sessions Band, in the capital after a sell-out concert series in The Point Depot the previous November.

The rock star also has numerous friends in Ireland, including Bono and horse trainer Enda Bolger.

In recent weeks, former RTÉ broadcaster and charity campaigner, Charlie Bird, who is battling motor neurone disease, said the final item on his bucket list is to get to meet the New Jersey rocker.

Mr Bird has said he wants Springsteen’s ‘Land of Hope and Dreams’ played at his funeral – the song his friend Daniel O’Donnell sang for him on top of Croagh Patrick last year.

Charlie suffered a broken cheek bone following a fall this week but he was not seriously injured.

Earlier today, he posted a picture with Daniel O’Donnell, and in a message he confirmed that his bucket list wish will happen this weekend.

"I met my great Pal Daniel today. Also so delighted that I lit a candle for frontline works. Great help today from them at Michaels and Vincent’s AE. Yes I have a fractured cheek bone. But I also got great news. That other wish on my bucket list is going to happen this weekend,” he wrote.