"Nancy Mulligan" is a song by English singer-songwriter

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran (; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

. It was included on the deluxe edition of his third studio album '' ÷'' (2017) and is the fifteenth track. After the album's release it charted at number 13 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. Sheeran recorded the song together with

Beoga Beoga ( Irish word for ''vivid'' or ''lively'') are an Irish folk band. They were formed in County Kerry in 2002 at the All-Ireland Fleadh although the original four members of the band hail from County Antrim and County Londonderry in Northern ...

Background

"Nancy Mulligan" is one of the most personal songs on the album, telling the story of how his grandparents, William Sheeran, a Protestant from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

and Anne "Nancy" Mulligan, a Catholic from the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

, met, fell in love during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and got married at the

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

border. Sheeran 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 ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

romance, which is like the most romantic thing. So I thought I'd write a song about it and make it a jig

eel Eels are ray-finned fish belonging to the order Anguilliformes (), which consists of eight suborders, 19 families, 111 genera, and about 800 species. Eels undergo considerable development from the early larval stage to the eventual adult stage ...

" In an interview with the ''

Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is considered a newspaper ...

'', talking about the song's Irish roots, Sheeran said "I don't think enough people use

Irish folk Irish traditional music (also known as Irish trad, Irish folk music, and other variants) is a genre of folk music that developed in Ireland. In ''A History of Irish Music'' (1905), W. H. Grattan Flood wrote that, in Gaelic Ireland, there we ...

in pop music... Hopefully if these songs are successful, more people will do a bit more like it."

Notable performances and covers

In 2017, the song was covered by the Irish country singer

Mike Denver Michael Fallon (born 15 June 1980 in Portumna, County Galway) known as Mike Denver, is an Irish country singer. Career Starting touring at age 16, he later on met manager Willie Carty who signed him. Denver recorded his first album ''Wings to Fl ...

with an accompanying music video. Sheeran performed the song, backed on stage by Beoga, during his headline performance at the

Glastonbury Festival 2017 The 2017 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts took place between 21 and 25 June. The three headlining acts were Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran with Barry Gibb performing in the iconic Legend's Slot. Tickets General Admiss ...

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Certifications

References

{{authority control 2017 songs Ed Sheeran songs Songs written by Ed Sheeran Songs written by Amy Wadge Songs written by Johnny McDaid Songs written by Foy Vance Songs written by Benny Blanco Song recordings produced by Benny Blanco