Ed Sheeran says he identifies culturally as Irish

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Emma Saunders

Culture reporter

Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has said he identifies culturally as Irish despite being born and raised in England.

Brought up in Suffolk, the Galway Girl singer’s dad hails from Belfast.

“I class my culture as Irish. I think that’s what I grew up with,” he told The Louis Theroux Podcast.

“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 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,” he added.

“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 added: “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 if 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.”

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Sheeran is married to Cherry Seaborn and the couple have two children. He also spoke to Theroux about the difficulties of fame and having to have security for his family.

He said that for him personally, “it’s kind of the part of the normal of being in the public eye” but that is was different when it came to his wife and children.

“I’m very, very private about my children’s image… I can’t take them to zoos or parks or anything really without someone trying to film them.

“There are times where the normal parts of life I kind of mourn for and wish I could push my kid on a swing in a public park and it not be weird, you know?”

He said: “People go, well that’s the trade-off. But my kids have not signed up to that.”

He added it was sometimes tricky when he was flying as he usually travels on commercial flights due to environmental concerns.

“We’re flying back on Ryanair from a gig in Italy last year but all of my fans who’d been at the gig were flying back!

“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 [taking a private jet]”, he told Theroux.

Speaking about his music, Sheeran said: “The two joys of my life professionally are writing songs and performing. I hate releasing music. I find the whole process quite stressful.

“You love the songs so much and then suddenly you’re putting them out there, and that might change your relationship with them if other people don’t like them. And I’m trying my hardest not to let that happen.”

He also mused on his relationship with success.

“I kind of feel I had my peak with [the album] Divide and I’m kind of coasting now. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back up there again but [when I had] that level of fame, that was my unhappiest [time].

“I’m much happier with the balance I’ve got now.”

After releasing two acoustic albums in 2023, Sheeran’s upcoming pop album, Play, his eighth studio album, will be released in September.