“Nancy Mulligan” by Ed Sheeran
A lively jig, “Nancy Mulligan” was written to tell the story of singer, song writer Ed Sheeran’s Irish paternal grandparents who’s love would have been doomed to failure if they had allowed religious differences and parental disapproval dictate their choices to them.
Grandma Nancy Mulligan and Granddad William Sheeran were divided by religion. eing a Protestant from Belfast and the other a Catholic from Southern Ireland. They met in London during the Second World War. She was a nurse whereas he was a dentist.
This intriguing piece of family history so met the disapproval of parents and friends on both sides in 1951, that as Ed told it to Zane Lowe on his show, Beats 1, that no one attended the wedding. The romantic William (Bill) Sheeran melted down all of his gold teeth to make a ring for his lovely bride. Even more interesting was the fact that they got married in clothes they had borrowed.
As it turned out, their love story was a fruitful one, as they survived the war and all of the social and religious disapproval to last into old age, long enough for his grandma, Nancy (Ann) to see her grandson, Ed Sheeran sing this tribute to their bold love.
Release Date of “Nancy Mulligan
“Nancy Mulligan” came out as part of the deluxe edition of Ed Sheeran’s album titled “÷” on 3 March 2017.
A Successful Track
The track went on to become a hit in its own right, peaking at the 13th position on the UK Singles Chart. In addition to that, it charted in over 15 other countries. In fact it topped Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles list in the United States.
Nancy “Anne” Mulligan
This song is named after Ed Sheeran’s paternal grandmother, Nancy “Anne” Mulligan. In fact Irish television network RTÉ actually went to her home to record the first time she ever listened to the track.
Writing Credits
The people who helped Ed Sheeran write “Nancy Mulligan” are as follows:
- Murray Cummings
- Johnny McDaid
- Foy Vance
- Amy Wadge
- Benny Blanco
The other producer of the track is Sheeran himself.
