The story of Ann Garrity is not much different from that of millions of other Irish emigrants who left their homes behind in the 1800’s to search for something better thousands of miles, and across an ocean, away.
What makes Ann’s something special, is that just a few generations later, Bruce Springsteen… yes, the Boss – would be born into her family. Springsteen, as any loyal son or daughter of New Jersey knows, would live the first part of his life in the same house Ann Garrity called home, climbing the tree that she brought from Rathangan and planted in the front yard.
On Friday, June 27, Rathangan and Freehold Boro celebrated a special ceremony, bonding the two communities through a Sister Cities relationship. What a great ceremony it was, a stone unveiled to mark the historic link, ceremonial resolutions signed, and speeches by dignitaries, including Freehold Boro’s own Mayor Kevin Kane and Senator Fiona O’Loughlin who represents Rathangan, and Kildare, in the Irish Seanad.
There is no doubt that it is the incredible musical legacy of Bruce Springsteen that brought these two towns together, a songbook that tells the stories of not just his life, but symbolically the stories of fans around the globe, and certainly in Freehold Boro and Rathangan.
However, to be sure, and as was made clear not just in the words that were spoken, but also in the hugs and handshakes that were exchanged, that what links Freehold Boro and Rathangan, and therefore one more time New Jersey and Ireland, are the relationships that have been formed.
It is said often that people want to do business with people they like, and while the relationships that are growing thanks to this Sister City arrangement goes well beyond business, that lesson holds true here. In the coming years music, art, and culture will be exchanged; personal bonds will strengthen; and, undoubtedly, Bruce Springsteen’s legacy will be further cemented in the annals of both American and Irish history.
At a time when our communities, our countries, and our world are so fractured these acts of coming together mean more than ever, and I’m here for it!
I am so grateful that I was able to attend Friday’s celebration, grateful for all the new relationships I have already gotten out of it, and, as always, grateful for the special role I have the opportunity of playing in growing strong Transatlantic bonds.
