He may have flaming red hair and a few songs about the Emerald Isle, but we’re deep diving to find out whether the ‘A Team’ singer is really Irish.
There’s no shortage of celebrities claiming Irish heritage.
From Barack Obama tracing his roots back to Moneygall to Robert DeNiro claiming his heritage comes from Tipperary, it appears it’s cool to be Irish.
One such celebrity who has long since leaned into his Irish heritage is British singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran.
With his flaming red hair, pale skin, and songs about Galway Girls and Nancy Mulligan, the popstar has tried hard to convince us he’s from the island.
But let’s find out once and for all. Is Ed Sheeran Irish?
Sheeran claims he’s ‘culturally Irish’ – what he had to say
Speaking on a recent episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, the 34 year old singer-songwriter revealed, “I class my culture as Irish. I think that’s what I grew up with.”
Despite being born and raised in Suffolk in southwest England, the ‘Galway Girl’ singer says the Irish influence in his life was the strongest.
He continued, “My dad’s family is [Irish]. He’s got seven brothers and sisters. We’d spend all of our holidays in Ireland.
“My first musical experiences were in Ireland, I grew up with trad music in the house. So I identify culturally as Irish, but I was obviously born and raised in Britain.”
His second home – not just British
Sheeran went on to explain that while he was born and raised in England, he doesn’t feel that he has to be “just British”.
He said, “There’s loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this. I don’t think there’s any rules to it.”
When asked whether he feels welcomed by the people of Ireland, he said he gets “a lot of love” when he visits. He explained, “I’d say it’s basically my second home, musically. I’d say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically.”
So, is Ed Sheeran Irish? – roots on Irish soil
Looking into the singer’s family history, he does have a pretty solid claim to Irish heritage.
While he was born and raised in England, both of his grandparents were born in Ireland. His late grandmother Anne Mary on his father’s side was a nurse from Gorey in County Wexford.
She married Bill Sheeran from County Derry in 1951 in London. They then raised their family, including Ed’s father John, in England.
The popstar also revealed that he spent many childhood summers and Christmasses in Ireland, and has fond memories of visiting family here.
So, there you have it. We guess Ed Sheeran is, in fact, at least half Irish.
