"Nancy Mulligan" is a song by English singer-songwriter
Ed Sheeran. It was included on the deluxe edition of his third studio album ÷ (2017) and is the fifteenth track.[1] After the album's release it charted at number 13 on the
UK Singles Chart.[2] Sheeran recorded the song together with
Beoga.[3]
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,
Northern Ireland and Anne "Nancy" Mulligan,[4] a Catholic from the
Republic of Ireland, met, fell in love during the
Second World War and got married at the
Wexford border.[5] 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 romance, which is like the most romantic thing. So I thought I'd write a song about it and make it a jig [reel]."[6]
In an interview with the Irish Times, talking about the song's Irish roots, Sheeran said "I don't think enough people use
Irish folk in pop music... Hopefully if these songs are successful, more people will do a bit more like it."[7]
Notable performances and covers
In 2017, the song was covered by the Irish country singer
Mike Denver, with an accompanying music video.[8]
Sheeran performed the song, backed on stage by Beoga, during his headline performance at the
Glastonbury Festival 2017.[9]
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Change the chart to CZ – SINGLES DIGITAL – TOP 100 and insert 201710 into search. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
^"
ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select SINGLES DIGITAL - TOP 100 and insert 201710 into search. Retrieved 19 March 2017.