Anne Mary Sheeran (née Mulligan) died peacefully on Tuesday, April 25 at Castle Gardens Nursing Home in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford, according to a notice on RIP.ie.
Sheeran, who counts megastar Ed Sheeran among her multiple grandchildren, was the “beloved wife of the late Bill and loving mother of Jim, Bill, Peter, Chris, John, MaryAnne, Bridget, and the late Sally and sister of the late Thomas, Jim, May, and Peggy.
“Deeply regretted by her loving sons, daughters, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, sons-in-law, daughters-in-law, niece, nephews, relatives, friends, and neighbours.
“May she rest in peace."
Sheeran reposed in Gorey on Monday and a funeral will be hosted tomorrow, Wednesday, May 3 at St. Patrick's Church Monaseed Gorey, followed by burial in St. Patrick's Cemetery Craanford.
The family has suggested donations if desired to St. Aidan's Daycare Centre in Gorey.
Anne Mary Mulligan, a native of Gorey in Co Wexford, married Derry native William 'Bill' Davis in 1951 in London, where they raised their family before retiring to Gorey in 1983.
Their marriage inspired their grandson Ed Sheeran's song "Nancy Mulligan," which featured on his Grammy Award-winning 2017 album "÷" ("divide.")
The lyrics say in part:
She and I went on the run
Don’t care about religion
I’m gonna marry the woman I love
Down by the Wexford border
She was Nancy Mulligan, and I was William Sheeran
She took my name and then we were one
Down by the Wexford border
Talking about his song "Nancy Mulligan," Sheeran told music journalist Zane Lowe in 2017 about his grandparents: "One was Protestant from Belfast and one was Catholic from southern Ireland.
"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."
Sheeran frequently leans into his Irish roots - he's recorded his song "Thinking Out Loud" in Irish, "Divide" famously featured his take on "Galway Girl," and he's spent plenty of time in Ireland visiting family, as well as busking in Galway.
Discussing the Irish influence on "Divide," Sheeran told The Irish Times in 2017: “I grew up on Planxty and The Chieftains, and I really like Irish music.
"I don’t think enough people use it in pop music.
"For some reason, it’s considered twee and old, but it’s such exciting, youthful music, it should be at the forefront of pop culture. Hopefully, if these songs are successful, more people will do a bit more like it.”
Upon the release of "Nancy Mulligan" in 2017, Anne Mary told RTÉ: "He [Ed] was lovely as a kid, he came over here [to Ireland] on holidays."
She added: “I never think of him as famous, you know, I have to say.
"Because he is exactly the same as he always was when he visits. And it’s very rare because he’s always working."
After listening to her grandson's song about her, she said, laughing: “It was fine. As long as I’m not the one who was playing it.”
No word on if Sheeran, who's been in New York City in recent days for his copyright infringement trial, will be at his granny's funeral in Co Wexford this week.
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