{"id":634633,"date":"2026-09-24T15:04:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/634633\/"},"modified":"2026-09-24T15:04:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T15:04:12","slug":"irish-identity-is-more-than-flags-and-galway-girl-irish-artists-call-out-ed-sheeran-over-palestine-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/634633\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Irish identity is more than flags and Galway Girl\u2019: Irish artists call out Ed Sheeran over Palestine row"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For many years, Ed Sheeran<\/a> has made much out of his Irish heritage. The singer-songwriter, 35, was raised in Suffolk, England; his father was born in London to Irish parents, while his mother also has Irish family members. In 2025, Sheeran said he feels \u201cculturally Irish\u201d,<\/a> having spent many childhood holidays in Ireland and now owning an Irish passport. He\u2019s been known to pop up at trad music sessions in Irish pubs, has posed with pints of Guinness and, to much controversy and dismay, released the Irish-influenced single \u201cGalway Girl\u201d in 2017, with a video starring actor Saoirse Ronan<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019d say it\u2019s basically my second home, musically,\u201d Sheeran told The Louis Theroux Podcast last year. \u201cI\u2019d say Ireland is the place that I am most successful musically.\u201d<\/p>\n

So it must be a blow for Sheeran that some of the loudest backlash over the row surrounding Macklemore<\/a> and Palestine<\/a> has come from Ireland itself. Sheeran has been at the centre of a media storm this month<\/a> over rapper Macklemore being dropped from his tour, after billionaire stadium owner Robert Kraft<\/a> objected to his public statements about Israel<\/a> and Palestine, which he apparently told Sheeran constituted \u201chate speech \u2013 not freedom of speech\u201d. In a statement, Sheeran said he was \u201cnot complicit\u201d in the censorship and insisted he had no choice in the decision to drop Macklemore. <\/p>\n

But that wasn\u2019t enough for Sheeran\u2019s support acts, all of whom dropped out of his tour<\/a> in support of Macklemore. Interestingly, all of those support acts can also claim Irish roots: singer-songwriter Aaron Rowe was born in Dublin, while the members of Sheeran\u2019s former backing band Beoga hail from County Antrim and Derry in Northern Ireland. Macklemore and Finneas have ancestors from Cork, and Lukas Graham\u2019s frontman\u2019s father was born in Donegal. Unlike Sheeran, though, all of them have a track record of making public statements in support of Palestine. \u201cThe best Irish artists have never been afraid to stand up for what\u2019s right in the world,\u201d Rowe told music podcast On the Record in March, in a starkly prescient comment, before setting out on tour with Sheeran.<\/p>\n

After Macklemore, real name Benjamin Hammond Haggerty, shared a statement about the row to Instagram, among those supporting him in the comments were Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap<\/a>, pop star CMAT, singer Nell Mescal, Hozier and Irish trad band The Wran. Meanwhile, Irish radio station Classic Hits Radio pulled Sheeran\u2019s music \u201cfor the foreseeable future\u201d following protests from its listeners. <\/p>\n

\"Sheeran\u2019sSheeran\u2019s music was pulled from a radio station in Ireland amid the backlash over Macklemore being dropped as his support act (@teddysphotos\/instagram)<\/p>\n

Why has the controversy struck such a chord in Ireland? \u201cI think the Irish people see the genocide in Palestine and can’t help but link it to our own history of colonial violence, national struggle, and British rule,\u201d Karla Chubb, lead singer and guitarist for the rock band Sprints, tells me.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like a mirror of our past. Some of the same colonial leaders who inflicted violence in Ireland were later sent to Palestine,\u201d she continues. \u201cForced occupation, displacement, starvation, and sectarian conflict \u2013 these were all tactics used in Ireland by the British Empire that we now see being dished out by Israel and the IDF and supported by superpowers such as the United States. We have lived their pain, faced similar traumas, and survived; it is our moral duty not to stand by silently while they now suffer a similar fate.\u201d <\/p>\n

When Irish acts and institutions have been among the most vocal critics of Israel\u2019s attacks on Gaza over the years (the death toll this week rose to more than 73,000<\/a>), Sheeran\u2019s perceived complicity in the censorship of fellow artists is hugely at odds with the Irish identity he claims. Others have cited his support of Jeremy Corbyn, praise for Keir Starmer, opposition to Brexit and statements in support of Ukraine as evidence of him using his platform to share his political views, contrary to his claim of wanting to \u201cmaintain diplomacy\u201d.<\/p>\n

This backlash in Ireland has arguably been a long time coming. Sheeran\u2019s approach to his Irish heritage has been met by cynicism from many who believe he has used it as a blatant marketing tool. Indeed, Sheeran claimed in an interview with Louis Theroux\u2019s podcast that his former record label, Atlantic, did not believe in the commercial appeal of \u201cGalway Girl\u201d, to which he countered, \u201cThe Corrs sold 20 million records\u2026 who\u2019s tried it since the Corrs? There\u2019s a huge gap in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\u2018Brazen\u2018Brazen cash-in\u2019: Sheeran received criticism for his song \u2018Galway Girl\u2019, which he released in 2017 (Getty)<\/p>\n

Upon its release, the song was dubbed by The Times as \u201ca brazen cash-in on his Irish heritage which crams more Emerald Isle clich\u00e9s than you can possibly imagine into 170 seconds\u201d, while The New York Post branded it a \u201chodgepodge of borderline-offensive Irish cliches\u201d. Sheeran defended the song in a Guardian interview by claiming he wrote it to appeal to \u201cthe 400 million people in the world who say they\u2019re Irish, even if they\u2019re not Irish. You meet them in America all the time\u2026 and those type of people are going to f***ing love it.\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou can claim cultural heritage until the cows come home, but identity is a lot more than flags, jerseys, and a mediocre interpolation of \u2018Galway Girl\u2019,\u201d Chubb says now. \u201cArtists are trying to tap into an Irish zeitgeist at the moment to make themselves more culturally relevant, but I think they’re underestimating their fans, and the public. Maybe it\u2019s sanctimonious, but we\u2019re a nation of storytellers, rich in history and folklore. We have used our words, music, and arts to speak for ourselves and others for centuries. If you can\u2019t stand by your convictions, if you can\u2019t stand for something, to most people now you\u2019re not worth your salt and you\u2019re certainly not Irish.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sprints'Sprints’ singer Karla Chubb: ‘Artists are trying to tap into an Irish zeitgeist at the moment to make themselves more culturally relevant, but I think they’re underestimating their fans, and the public’ (Tom Ham)<\/p>\n

While Rowe has defended Sheeran somewhat, arguing the focus should be on stadium owner Robert Kraft and \u201cthe Zionist lobbies trying to silence the voices of people who are shouting about genocide\u201d, he also said Sheeran\u2019s statement \u201ccould have been a lot better\u201d and believed Sheeran knows the decision to drop Macklemore \u201cwas a mistake\u201d. <\/p>\n

Sheeran opened his first concert since the controversy erupted, at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, with a statement<\/a> that condemned both the Hamas attack of 7 October 2023, and the attacks on Gaza by Israel, but stopped short of calling Israel\u2019s actions a genocide. \u201cWhat happened in Israel, and at the music festival on October 7th was horrific and compounded centuries of Jewish pain,\u201d he told his audience. \u201cWhat is happening in Gaza is catastrophic and unjustifiable and disproportionate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chubb suggests that much of the disappointment and anger aimed at Sheeran stems largely from \u201cfrustration born out of an apathy for injustice\u201d, she says. \u201cWe are witnessing a genocide unfold before our very eyes, and it seems like those who have the most security, safety and power, are too cowardly to speak out.\u201d An independent United Nations commission of inquiry found that Israel\u2019s actions in Gaza constitute genocide, a charge that the Israeli government vehemently denies.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s disappointing when you have people like Ed Sheeran not using the power they have to say to a booking agent, promoter, or stadium owner, \u2018I\u2019m not going to play here. I\u2019m going to find somewhere else I can play\u2019,\u201d Gurriers frontman Dan Hoff told The Irish World this week. \u201cYou can\u2019t be an artist anymore and be apolitical, you can\u2019t \u2013 you\u2019re putting your head in the sand, ignorant to what\u2019s happening\u2026 you\u2019re a chicken. You\u2019re not being an artist. An artist needs to be someone who goes against the system and against the societal norms.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pro-PalestinePro-Palestine protests take place outside Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on 19 September ahead of one of Sheeran\u2019s concerts (Reuters)<\/p>\n

Many of the most vocal musicians speaking out on Palestine, Chubb points out, have been independent artists who \u201clack the financial security of a millionaire like Ed Sheeran, turn down shows, sponsorships, and opportunities to use their voice for good and for change\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to note though, that while Sheeran is becoming the target of this entire hit campaign, he is not the only one to blame,\u201d she says. \u201cSheeran at this point in his career is more commerce than a person. Record labels are owned by millionaires, venues are owned by conglomerate brands, and we are allowing corporate greed to inch its way into every fibre of our existence. When we allow our communities and amenities to become shareholder capital, everything will be a financial decision.\u201d <\/p>\n

But it is Sheeran\u2019s inaction that seems to be generating the most ire. \u201cSheeran\u2019s influence in the industry is undeniable, his money countless, and his fame is global,\u201d Chubb says. \u201cIf someone with that much power is too scared to speak out, what hope does it offer to others? We cannot let the voices of the many be silenced by those of the few in power.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":634634,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[307,239416,269,24166,93,61,60,211835],"class_list":["post-634633","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-arts","tag-civil-conflict","tag-culture","tag-demonstrations","tag-entertainment","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-riots"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634633","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=634633"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/634633\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/634634"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=634633"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=634633"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=634633"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}