BARACK OBAMA and Bruce Springsteen have teamed up for a new podcast series, and it's got people wondering what the two have in common.
Renegades: Born in the USA sees the former US President team up with the iconic musician to discuss how, despite coming from different backgrounds and careers, they have much in common, in an effort to re-unify Americans.
While the podcast will see them discuss things such as fatherhood, marriage and what it means to be an American, the unlikely duo also have another, rather big thing in common-- their Irish roots.
How is Barack Obama Irish?
(Image: Getty)Barack Obama only learned he had Irish roots in 2007, but has embraced his heritage and spoken proudly about his Irish roots since.
His great-great-grea-grandfather emigrated from Moneygall, County Offaly, to seek a better life in the United States, as hundreds of thousands of Irish people did during the 'Great Hunger'.
In 2011, US president, Obama visited the town of Moneygall and was given a hero's welcome home, with the whole town packing into the pub to watch the president try his first sip of Guinness on Irish soil.
Obama was so popular in Ireland that his trip sparked the creation of the 'Barack Obama Plaza', a petrol station and Supermac's restaurant which has become a bit of a tourist destination for people in Ireland.
He was also given the fond Irish nickname Barack O'Bama.
How is Bruce Springsteen Irish?
Born in the USA but with proud Irish roots (Getty)Bruce Springsteen, despite being 'Born in the USA', has Irish heritage through his paternal great-great-grandmother Ann Garrity, who left Mullingar for America in 1852.
Ann Garrity's granddaughter, Martha O'Hagan, married the musician's grandfather Anthony Springsteen, decades later, giving Bruce Springsteen strong Irish roots with a Dutch surname.
Springsteen is another American immensely proud of his Irish heritage, playing concerts on the Emerald Isle almost annually in normal times, and visiting often.
In fact, he is so fond of his ancestral home that he even told RTÉ that he wad considering moving to Ireland should Donald Trump win the 2020 election.
He told Ireland's national broadcaster two weeks before the election that he was certain Joe Biden would win the presidency-- "and if not, make some room for me there in Ireland".
He followed Irish traditions growing up in America, and has reflected on his time going to large Irish wakes as a child-- something very significant in Irish culture.
You can learn more about the Irish-American pair's Spotify podcast here.
