By Debbie McGoldrick

Bruce Springsteen took a trip down memory lane with his recent visit to the village of Slane in Co. Meath. The Boss was in Ireland for shows at the Point, and during his downtime he journeyed to the neighboring county for some pub grub at the Conyngham Arms Hotel with his wife Patti Scialfa. It was 21 years ago that Springsteen played a memorable show in the village’s Slane Castle, with over 85,000 fans in attendance.
“He was very friendly and talked to the local people who were there. He was very down-to-earth and people came in to talk to him and get his autograph and he was quite happy with that,” said a staffer at the hotel. “We wanted him to go into the restaurant where he could be more comfortable, but he said he was more than happy to sit and eat in the bar.” . . .

Speaking of Slane Castle, rapper Eminem canceled his show there last year at the final minute because of a stint in rehab, causing all kinds of outrage among his 80,000 fans who snapped up tickets within an hour. But the show’s promoters, MCD, really got messed about. Know how much they lost because of Em’s addiction? Close to $3 million, and their insurance companies wouldn’t cough up a penny. Now the issue has wound up in court, as MCD started legal proceedings on Tuesday against their insurers.

No, he’s not claiming Irish roots, but Dustin Hoffman nonetheless has a family link to Ireland. Speaking about his son-in-law to The Irish Times, Hoffman said, “Seamus Culligan is his name. Does he have a shot? He’s American, but with a name like that, and he’s got red hair and freckles, you can guess where his roots are. Seamus has never been to Ireland. What a great thing it would be for just the two of us, me and my son-in-law, to go to Ireland. I want us to do that.”