Singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran has surprised fans by playing a number of original songs and Irish tunes during a music and arts festival in Wexford town. The hitmaker played alongside Irish bands Amble, BIIRD, Beoga and Aaron Rowe in the Sky and The Ground pub on Tuesday night, as part of Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann. Brought up in Suffolk, the Galway Girl singer's dad hails from Belfast, and in June Sheeran announced that he identifies culturally as Irish. Sheeran also made sure fans who couldn't get make inside the pub didn't miss out, as he made his way outside to perform an acoustic rendition of his hit single Perfect. Sheeran and all-female trad supergroup BIIRD performed traditional folk song Wild Mountain Thyme together. The crowd sang along as Sheeran played the guitar, accompanied by the other artists on violin and the bodhrán - a traditional Irish frame drum. Wild Mountain Thyme is a Scottish and Irish folk song which was first recorded in 1957 and has been performed by many people. Aaron Rowe and Irish folk band Amble joined BIIRD and Sheeran to perform folk song Raglan Road to the crowd of enthusiastic Fleadh-goers. The performance of Raglan Road was no different, with everyone singing together as the violin, accordion and guitar were played while the musicians stood in a circle at the pub. On Raglan Road was originally written by Irish poet Patrick Kavanagh and it was brought to musical life and made famous by The Dubliners. Vocals and instrumentals from Irish folk band Beoga, Aaron Rowe, BIIRD, and Sheeran came together for a rendition of The Parting Glass. The origins of the song can be found in Scotland with it being first printed along with its familiar melody in Colm O Lochlainn's Irish Street Ballads in 1939. Cork poet Patrick Galvin recorded the song in 1956 and The Clancy Brothers popularised it when they included it on their 1959 album. Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann - the All-Ireland Fleadh - is held for a week during August and, in the past, has welcomed up to 600,000 visitors to the host town or city. It is the world's largest annual festival of Irish music and hosts street performers, intimate concerts, big-name acts and more 150 competitions showcasing the best of traditional music talent. Fleadh Cheoil is run by Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Eireann - the society of the musicians of Ireland. The organisation was founded in 1951 by traditional musicians and Gaelic culture advocates from across Ireland. Each year Comhaltas hosts numerous fleadhanna (festivals) across the island at county and provincial level. Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann is the best known of the festivals, often simply known as the Fleadh. — BBC
