Ed Sheeran discusses Irish influences on his music: "The guy who made me wanna write songs is Irish"

Ed Sheeran is the new face of Irish Tourism, and has discussed his connection to Ireland in a new interview.

Sitting down with Dermot O'Leary at the London Irish Centre, the Irish tourism board's new campaign was kicked off by Ed, who performed a number of tracks while also discussing his Irish heritage and connections.

"I definitely have more of a connection with an Irish crowd," said the Castle on the Hill star. I was into Irish music but the guy who made me wanna write songs is Irish."

That guy could be Van Morrison; Van the Man is referenced in Ed's single Shape of You, with the Suffolk singer listing him as an influence on Desert Island Discs. To this day, Ed also often writes with Irish artists such as Snow Patrol's Johnny McDaid and the folk group Boega.

Ed explains that his popular song Galway Girl is always one that gets the Irish crowds excited, citing his opening show in Cork as his favourite from his latest tour. He also has a soft spot for Dingle Bay, which he says is "really beautiful".

Ed Sheeran's third studio album ÷ was hugely popular in Ireland. The best-selling release of 2017, all of the album's tracks populated the Top 16 of the Official Irish Singles Chart in the first week of release. So far in 2018, Divide is the second biggest album - view the full list.

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