'Like a ginger needle on a turntable' Ed Sheeran returns to a rebel welcome in Cork
Ed Sheeran returned to Cork on Thursday for the first of two near sold out gigs, that will see the stadium packed with near 70,000 fans over the two days. Picture: Eddie O'Hare
“Cork on a Thursday is more mental than Dublin on a Saturday night,” Ed Sheeran told 35,000 fans who gathered at the first of two bumper shows in Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Thursday night.
On Thursday in Cork city, the sun shone, Sheeran was blaring on repeat on every corner, and the red carpet was rolled out to give the red-haired singer-songwriter with Irish roots a rebel welcome.
Having played a similar string of shows in Páirc Uí Chaoimh in 2018, Ed Sheeran returned to Cork on Thursday for the first of two near sold out gigs, that will see the stadium packed with near 70,000 fans (over half the total population of Cork city) over the two days of Ed-fest.
Emma Murphy from Farranree had her tickets since last October and was so excited to finally see Ed.
“I just love him to be honest, I love his songs, and I’ve loved him since I was young,” she said.
“She thinks he’s unreal” chips in her friend Sophie Teale.
“Yeah I do,” laughed Ms Murphy, “I’m just so excited.”
Jerry Cohen and Vicky Niemi travelled all the way from the US to catch an evening with Ed in Cork, and they said the chance to see him live was the “icing on the cake” of their trip to Ireland.
Sisters Neesha and Rebecca Coleman from Dingle were decked out in festival makeup, and the “huge” Ed Sheeran fans said their first time seeing him in person was “epic”.
“Oh we’re massive fans, I’m sure like everybody around here we’re crazy about him,” said Rebecca.
“He’s just brilliant, he’s grounded, he’s real, that’s what we get from him anyway,” added Neesha.
“It’s hard to describe in a word how I’m feeling, there’s so many, but if I had to I’d say ecstatic,” added Rebecca.
Eleven-year-old Caoímhín Cowhig said it was amazing to be seeing Ed Sheeran for his first ever concert, and first time at Páirc Uí Chaoimh out of his GAA shorts.
“I’m a big fan,” he said. “I love singing his songs, my favourite one is Shivers.” “I just want to meet him really, if I could get his autograph that would be amazing,” he added.
Fans flooded into the Leeside stadium to welcome Sheeran back to Cork for the first time in four years, and to celebrate the first act to return to Páirc Uí Chaoimh since the pandemic.
The stands on all sides were dwarfed by the towering illuminated arms of Sheeran's in the round stage set up, complete with enormous floating plectrums above the sea of fans gathered at every angle.
The sun was still shining as things were kicked off at 6pm by up-and-coming Limerick rapper Denise Chaila, followed by 21-year-old English singer-songwriter Maisie Peters, who is signed to Ed Sheeran's label.
With Cork emblazoned across the front and back of his shirt, Ed Sheeran finally appeared before the roaring crowd.
“Let me tell you, Cork on a Thursday is more mental than Dublin on a Saturday night,” he told the crowd, talking about his previous tour leg in the capital over the weekend.
Spinning around like a ginger needle on a record-playing turntable, the crowd got a 360 view of Ed as the stage spun and sparked in a spectacular show, complete with blasts of fire and coloured clouds of paint bursting overhead.
Sheeran serenaded Leesiders for over two hours, backed by a band at times, but at the heart of it all was what every fan had come for - just Ed and his guitar.
The often vocal Sheeran scrooges were nowhere to be heard amongst the 35,000 fans that could be heard down the Lee, singing along to Ed’s greatest hits, newest tracks, and even a couple of covers.
Sheeran is set to return tomorrow night for his second and final performance in Cork, before heading on to Limerick next week.
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