10 March 2017 Steve Earle's Galway Girl was from Dublin. Ed Sheeran's Galway Girl was from Limerick. Alliteration, rhythm and other mysteries of lyric writing were probably the forces prevailing over mundane accuracy in both instances. That said, fans of feminist and post-colonial theories will recognise the trope of a western male tourist or voyager … Continue reading Ed Sheeran – ‘Galway Girl’ →

13 January 2017 Welcome to 2017, the year Ed Sheeran broke the Irish singles charts and they had to change the rules. It's also the year that, aside from a week's carry-over of 'Rockabye' from the end of 2016, only eight songs went to number one in Ireland; since three of them are his that's … Continue reading Ed Sheeran – ‘Shape Of You’ →