Ed Sheeran has expressed his heartbreak over missing his Irish grandmother’s funeral.
The singer’s 98-year-old granny Anne ‘Nancy’ Sheeran, who died last week, was laid to rest in her native Co Wexford on Wednesday.
Ed was forced to miss the funeral as he was in New York fighting a copyright infringement case in court, which he won on Thursday.
The 32-year-old was taken to court over similarities between his hit single Thinking Out Loud and Marvin Gaye’s Let’s Get It On.
The singer was sued by the heirs of Ed Townsend, who wrote the 1973 track, and the copyright infringement trial kicked off in Manhattan, New York last week.
They alleged Ed’s song has “striking similarities” to Let’s Get It On, and “overt common elements”.
Despite their claims, a New York jury decided on Thursday that Ed did not infringe copyright of Let’s Get It On.
Speaking outside court, Ed said he was “obviously very happy” about winning the case, but lamented missing his grandmother’s funeral for the trial.
“I’m obviously very happy with the outcome of this case and it looks like I’m not going to have to retire from my day job after all,” he said.
“Having to be in New York for this trial has meant that I have missed being with my family at my grandmother’s funeral in Ireland. I won’t get that time back.”
“We need songwriters and the wider musical community to come together to celebrate and support creativity.”
“These claims and the people who manipulate songwriters for their own gain need to be stopped so that the creative process can carry on and we can all get back to making music.”
“I am not and never will allow myself to be a piggy bank for someone to shake,” he added.
Ed’s grandmother Anne Mary Sheeran, otherwise known as Nancy, passed away last week at Castle Gardens Nursing Home in Enniscorthy.
The singer famously wrote his hit song ‘Nancy Mulligan’ about his grandmother’s “Romeo and Juliet” romance with his grandfather.
At the funeral on Wednesday, Ed’s father John said he was “so upset” he couldn’t be there.
During the eulogy, he said: “I am very sad that our son Edward is unable to be here today. He’s so upset that he cannot be present.”
“He has to be thousands of miles away in a court in America defending his integrity.”
“I know he is comforted by the fact that he was able to spend some precious time alone with his grandma just a month ago,” he added.
