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Daily Mirror
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mirror
Ed Sheeran's bitter family rift as star faces backlash for identity confession
Ed Sheeran's confession that he identifies culturally as Irish caused backlash online, but his heritage comes after his grandparents' love story which was portrayed in his hit tune, Nancy Mulligan Ed Sheeran has faced backlash following his candid interview with Louis Theroux, in which the singer claimed he 'identifies culturally' as Irish. The Shape of You star, 34, opened up to the journalist on his podcast, revealing his family's heritage. Ed, who was born in Halifax and raised in Suffolk before moving to London to pursue his dreams, recalled his childhood holidays to Ireland. He explained to Louis how his dad, one of eight siblings, is from Belfast. He was born to Nancy Mulligan and William Sheeran. While Nancy was a Catholic from the Republic of Ireland, William was a Protestant who was born in Northern Ireland. The duo fell in love during the Second World War, with their connection causing tension on both sides of the family. Despite the furore from their families, Nancy and William enjoyed a marriage spanning almost seven decades. William died in 2013, while Ed mourned his grandmother's death in 2023, aged 98. The bitter fallout was Ed's inspiration behind his huge hit from 2017 titled after his grandmother. During her funeral, Ed's dad referenced the love story in his speech. He said: "Mum met Dad, a dental student, at a Guy's nurses' home party. Friendship turned into love, but the Northern Ireland Presbyterian side of dad's family did their utmost to end the relationship. "Their wedding was attended by only one family member – mum's twin sister Peggy. They lived above that dental surgery in South London with a growing family. Eventually five boys and three girls. Mum joked to us that she had originally wanted 11 children so she could feel the football or cricket team." Speaking of his heritage, Ed told The Louis Theroux Podcast. "I class my culture as Irish. I think that's what I grew up with. My mum's family is very, very small, it's her and her parents, and my dad's family is… 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.". He added: "I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express. And I feel like just because I was born in Britain doesn't necessarily mean that I have to just be (British), there's loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this." He also admitted the country was "basically my second home musically". " I'd say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically," he claimed. However, he was met with mixed response to his comments online. "They can have him," one Twitter /X user fumed. "Why can't he just identify as himself," asked another. There were comments of support too, though, with one user explaining: "It's not where you're born. It's your bloodline that determines what you are. "Cliff Richard was born in India. Is he Indian? You can be born anywhere in the world. That doesn't automatically make you part of that culture."
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Bitter family rift at the heart of Ed Sheeran's Emerald Isle roots: How Suffolk- born singer's beloved grandparents were shunned by loved ones, as he cops backlash for 'identifying culturally' as Irish
The devastating family rift at the heart of Ed Sheeran 's roots is revealed after he sparked a backlash for claiming he 'identifies culturally' as Irish on the The Louis Theroux Podcast. While the singer, 34, was born in Halifax, Yorkshire, and famously raised in Suffolk, he has many family members in Ireland and fondly recalls childhood holidays spent there. His father John's family hails from Belfast, and is one of eight siblings born to Nancy Mulligan and William Sheeran. While Nancy was a Catholic from the Republic of Ireland, her husband was a Protestant from Northern Ireland, so when they fell in love during the Second World War it caused huge ructions on both sides of the family. It was this bitter fall out in Ed's paternal lineage that inspired his hit 2017 song Nancy Mulligan, named after his grandmother. The folk track tells the tale of his grandparents being shunned for marrying outside their religions. Reflecting on the romance, Ed said: 'They got engaged and no one turned up at their wedding. He stole all the gold teeth in his dental surgery and melted them down into a wedding ring, and they wore borrowed clothes to get married. 'And just basically have this kind of Romeo And Juliet romance, which is like the most romantic thing'. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new Showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. Despite the couple, who met in London during WWII before returning to their native Ireland years later, not being supported by their families they went on to start their own and welcomed a whopping eight children over their almost 70-year marriage. As well as Ed's father John they shared Jim, Bill, Peter, Chris, MaryAnne, Bridget and the late Sally as well as 23 grandchildren, with Ed spending many holidays wth his grandparents in County Wexford. William died in 2013, while Nancy passed away in 2023 aged 98, but Ed was forced to miss her funeral due to his ongoing and highly publicised copyright trial in New York - that he eventually won. Speaking at the service, Ed's father said the singer was 'so upset' to miss his beloved grandmother's funeral but he has to 'defend his integrity' across the pond. He then turned to the 'Romeo and Juliet' love story referenced in Ed's song: 'Mum met Dad, a dental student, at a Guy's nurses' home party'. 'Friendship turned into love, but the Northern Ireland Presbyterian side of dad's family did their utmost to end the relationship'. 'Their wedding was attended by only one family member – mum's twin sister Peggy. They lived above that dental surgery in South London with a growing family. Eventually five boys and three girls. Mum joked to us that she had originally wanted 11 children so she could feel the football or cricket team.' When Ed's song inspired by the romance was released in 2017, a sweet video emerged of his grandmother listening to it for the first time. The then 92-year-old told RTE News: 'I'll never think of him as being famous, I have to say. He's exactly the same as he always is when he visits. 'And it's very rare because he's always working and when you think he was working from the age of 14, you'd have to feel sorry for him, you know he's so tired but he loved it.' Following Nancy's death Ed revealed the loss inspired the song Supermarket Flowers on his album Divide. He said on social media: 'When my grandma passed away I wrote a song called Supermarket Flowers about the situation. The verse lyrics are about packing up her room at that hospital. The care she received was incredible; the people who worked there so lovely, compassionate, funny and caring. 'Me and my family became very close to the nurses who worked there and my mum is still in touch with them now. I just wanted to make a tribute to my gran, She was the musical one in my family. Hopefully I will pass that on to my kids'. Opening up on his heritage on the latest episode of The Louis Theroux Podcast, Ed explained: 'I class my culture as Irish. I think that's what I grew up with. 'My dad's family is ... 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.' The Galway Girl hitmaker went on to say that he was 'really proud' of his Irish cultural roots, and that he didn't feel that he had to 'just be British', as it was down to 'how you feel'. Nancy passed away in 2023 aged 98, but Ed was forced to miss her funeral due to his ongoing and highly publicised copyright trial in New York (pictured) - that he eventually won He said: 'I don't overthink it but I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express. 'And I feel like just because I was born in Britain doesn't necessarily mean that I have to just be [British], there's loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this. 'I don't think there's any rules to it. It should be how you feel and how you were raised and what you lean into.' And when asked whether he gets 'a lot of love' in Ireland, the chart-topping star also praised the country as being 'my second home'. He said: 'I'd say it's basically my second home, musically. I'd say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically.' 'I come from an Irish family, spent most of my childhood summers and birthdays and Christmases in Ireland listening to trad music bands,' Ed previously said in an interview. However Ed's comments sparked backlash as fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hit back at his claims he is Irish as they claimed he was 'pretending'. They penned: 'Identifies just means to pretend'; 'does Ed Sheeran hold eligibility to start for the Irish national football team?'; 'They can have him'; 'It's not where you're born. It's your bloodline that determines what you are. Cliff Richard was born in India. Is he Indian? You can be born anywhere in the World. That doesn't automatically make you part of that culture.'; The Galway Girl hitmaker went on to say that he was 'really proud' of his Irish cultural roots, and that he didn't feel that he had to 'just be British', as it was down to 'how you feel' However Ed's comments sparked backlash as fans took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to hit back at his claims he is Irish 'Whilst he's of the Irish diaspora, he's English'; 'Why can't he just identify as himself'; 'That Galway Girl must've spun his head around'; 'Ed Sheeran tour posters for the top of the bonfire'; 'Grand so. Tell him he's now eligible to join the Gardai' 'His song Galway girl has to be up there with the worst songs of all rubbish with all the usual Irish cliché only thing he missed in the lyrics was shouting 'up the ra'..seems a nice lad but terrible music'. However others understood his point of view as they argued: 'Well his da is Irish so he's perfectly entitled to.'; 'You can be born and raised for some time anyway in England and still identify culturally as Irish. It's not unprecedented';
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Ed Sheeran: I identify as culturally Irish despite being born in England
Ed Sheeran has said he identifies culturally as Irish despite being born and raised in England. The Galway Girl singer, 34, brought up in Suffolk, has a large Irish family and said he would spend holidays in the country as a child. 'I class my culture as Irish. I think that's what I grew up with,' he told The Louis Theroux Podcast. Sheeran's father's parents are Irish. His grandmother Anne Mary, also known as Nancy Mulligan, from Gorey in County Wexford, married Bill Sheeran, from County Derry, in London in 1951. One of Sheeran's hits was named after his grandmother and paid tribute to their relationship. He told Theroux: 'My mum's family is very, very small, it's her and her parents, and my dad's family is... 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.' 'I don't think there's any rules to it' Sheeran said 'just because I was born in Britain doesn't necessarily mean that I have to just be [British]'. He added: 'I do feel like my culture is something that I'm really proud of and grew up with and want to express. There's loads of people I know that are half this or quarter this. I don't think there's any rules to it. It should be how you feel and how you were raised and what you lean into.' Asked whether he gets 'a lot of love' in Ireland, he said: 'I'd say it's basically my second home musically. I'd say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically.' Sheeran previously told BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs that he has Irish family and spent most of his childhood summers, birthdays and Christmases in the country. 'A strange trade-off' Sheeran married Cherry Seaborn in 2019, and the couple have two children. Reflecting on the drawbacks of fame, he said he was 'really sensitive' to people taking pictures of his children. 'My first daughter, six weeks after she was born, we hadn't sent any photos of her whatsoever, but there was paparazzi outside our house that got a photo of her. It was in the paper and I just found it weird that some strange old man that I'd never met was the only person with an image of my kid on their device. 'It's a strange trade-off, because obviously to be successful in the music industry you end up being rich, famous and successful, and those things are things that people go, 'well, that's the trade-off.' 'But my kids have not signed up to that, and I find it weird that it's normal to take pictures of other people's children if they're famous.' The four-time Grammy-winning singer also revealed that he does not own a private jet and likes to travel by train, saying: 'I like the environment, I like trees. I'd find it hard to justify. No one's perfect. When we're doing intense promo trips, there will be the odd time,' he told Theroux.
