Nancy Mulligan

For the camogie player and former president of the Camogie Association, see Nancy Murray.

"Nancy Mulligan"
Song by Ed Sheeran
from the album ÷
Released	3 March 2017 (2017-03-03)
Recorded	2016
Genre	Irish folk
Length	2:59
Label	Asylum Atlantic
Songwriter(s)	Amy Wadge Benny Blanco Ed Sheeran Foy Vance Johnny McDaid Murray Cummings
Producer(s)	Benny Blanco Ed Sheeran

"Nancy Mulligan" is a song by English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran. It was included on the deluxe edition of his third studio album ÷ (2017) and is the fifteenth track.^[1] After the album's release it charted at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart.^[2] Sheeran recorded the song together with Beoga.^[3]

Background

"Nancy Mulligan" is one of the most personal songs on the album, telling the story of how his grandparents, William Sheeran, a Protestant from Belfast, Northern Ireland and Anne "Nancy" Mulligan,^[4] a Catholic from the Republic of Ireland, met, fell in love during the Second World War and got married at the Wexford border.^[4] Sheeran said: "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 [reel]."^[5]

In an interview with the Irish Times, talking about the song's Irish roots, Sheeran said "I don't think enough people use Irish folk in pop music... Hopefully if these songs are successful, more people will do a bit more like it."^[6]

Notable performances and covers

Sheeran performed the song, backed on stage by Beoga, during his headline performance at the Glastonbury Festival 2017.^[7]

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts Chart (2017) Peak position Australia (ARIA)[8] 37 Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[9] 42 Canada (Canadian Hot 100)[10] 51 Czech Republic (Singles Digitál Top 100)[11] 27 Denmark (Tracklisten)[12] 37 France (SNEP)[13] 127 Germany (GfK)[14] 43 Hungary (Stream Top 40)[15] 28 Ireland (IRMA)[16] 3 Italy (FIMI)[17] 59 Netherlands (Single Top 100)[18] 26 New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)[19] 27 Scotland (OCC)[20] 21 Slovakia (Singles Digitál Top 100)[21] 28 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[22] 50 UK Singles (OCC)[23] 13 US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[24] 1

Certifications Region Certification Certified units/sales Canada (Music Canada)[25] Platinum 80,000^‡ Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[26] Gold 45,000^‡ Italy (FIMI)[27] Gold 25,000^‡ Poland (ZPAV)[28] Gold 25,000^‡ United Kingdom (BPI)[29] Platinum 600,000^‡ United States (RIAA)[30] Gold 500,000^‡ ^‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. O'Connor, Roisin (3 March 2017). "Ed Sheeran, Divide, album review: Singer-songwriter's third record is impressive for ambition alone". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
2. "Divide and conquer: Ed Sheeran smashes UK chart & wife records with new album and dominates singles rankings". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. 10 March 2017. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
3. "Ed Sheeran and us - how Beoga crossed the Divide". www.rte.ie. 4 March 2017. Retrieved 11 March 2017.
4. Pomarico, Nicole (7 March 2017). "Who Are Ed Sheeran's Grandparents? "Nancy Mulligan" Was Written About Their Love Story". Bustle. Retrieved 22 May 2017.
5. Zane Lowe (3 February 2017). Zane Lowe and Ed Sheeran, Pt 2. iTunes. Event occurs at 52:28–53:00.
6. Williams, Alexis Paige (3 March 2017). "Who Are Ed Sheeran's Grandparents? "Nancy Mulligan" Was Written About Their Love Story". Bustle. Retrieved 21 March 2017.
7. Savage, Mark (25 June 2017). "Ed Sheeran closes Glastonbury 2017". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
8. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
9. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
10. "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Canadian Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
11. "ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Digital Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 10. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
12. "Track Top-40 Uge 10, 2017". Hitlisten. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
13. "Le Top de la semaine : Top Singles - SNEP (Week 10, 2017)" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 19 March 2017.^{[permanent dead link‍]}
14. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
15. "Archívum – Slágerlisták – MAHASZ" (in Hungarian). Stream Top 40 slágerlista. Magyar Hanglemezkiadók Szövetsége. Retrieved 14 April 2017.
16. "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Nancy Mulligan". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
17. "Classifica settimanale WK 10" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
18. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
19. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
20. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 30 March 2017.
21. "ČNS IFPI" (in Slovak). Hitparáda – Singles Digital Top 100 Oficiálna. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 10. týden 2017 in the date selector. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
22. "Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
23. "Ed Sheeran: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
24. "Ed Sheeran Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 19 March 2017.
25. "Canadian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". Music Canada. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
26. "Danish single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". IFPI Danmark. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
27. "Italian single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 January 2018. Select "2017" in the "Anno" drop-down menu. Type "Nancy Mulligan" in the "Filtra" field. Select "Singoli" under "Sezione".
28. "Wyróżnienia – Złote płyty CD - Archiwum - Przyznane w 2021 roku" (in Polish). Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
29. "British single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
30. "American single certifications – Ed Sheeran – Nancy Mulligan". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 17 September 2018.