Niamh Dunne, the woman behind Ed Sheeran’s hit Galway Girl, has had her say on her part in the song.
The Shape of you singer recently revealed the identity of the woman behind his number one song, and although many fans guessed that the woman behind the song would be one of Ed’s former loves, it turned out, she’s actually married to one of Ed’s friends!
“It was based on the fiddle player in Beoga, Niamh (Dunne). She’s married to an Irishman, a friend of mine.” he told The Irish Times.
“I had the band in my house for an extra day so I was like, ‘what can I write about? She plays the fiddle in an Irish band . . . right, cool, let’s write a song about that.’ She inspired the first line but the rest of the song isn’t about anyone, I just made up a story.
“I was looking for a line that wasn’t Galway Girl because of the Steve Earle song, but the more and more I sung it, the more I thought, f**k it, there’s just going to be a new Galway Girl. And it means I can sing both live.”
Niamh, who is currently on honeymoon with her new hubby, has spoken out saying she doesn’t necessarily see herself as the sole “inspiration” for the song, but she’s happy her Irish folk music group, Beoga, had the opportunity to work alongside such an esteemed musician.
“It’s deadly that people can finally get to hear the tracks! It’s great craic and so far they seem to be getting a good reaction.” she told VIP Magazine.
“I’m so happy with Galway Girl, Ed Sheeran knows how to write a great pop song and it’s so catchy. As for being an inspiration, I don’t know if you could go that far really, Christ almighty – and I am a Limerick woman!
“My sister said she knew straight away it couldn’t be about me, when later in the song she beats him at darts and pool! But it’s nice that hanging out with Beoga gave him the idea for the line of the song, a starting point to where the song ended up. We wrote it while we were over there recording and jamming together.
“I suppose he’s always writing and taking ideas from what’s around him. We’re thrilled to have got to play and write with him. We make our living from playing music, so we see this as the next chapter for us.”