Superstar Ed Sheeran plays surprise gig at Moville man’s pub in Boston

There aren’t too many Inishowen publicans who could say they’ve booked a global music icon like Ed Sheeran for a gig.

But that’s exactly what happened for Moville native Oran McGonagle, who owns and runs a number of bars on the US east coast.

Superstar Sheeran, 34, dropped into McGonagle’s packed Dubliner bar in Boston for a surprise St Patrick’s Day show that will go down in local folklore on both sides of the Atlantic for decades to come.

The four-time Grammy Award-winning artist, who has sold more than 150 million albums worldwide, played an hour-long set much to the delight of Oran and the ecstatic punters lucky enough to be inside.

Ed Sheeran dropped into Moville native Oran McGonagle’s packed Dubliner bar in Boston

Sporting a Boston Celtics top and playing his trademark acoustic guitar, Sheeran powered through a number of top hits, including Galway Girl, Shape of You, and Nancy Mulligan, which was written about his Irish grandmother.

Oran describes Sheeran as an “absolute gentleman” and reveals how he finished the impromptu concert by announcing from the stage that he was buying everyone a drink.

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39-year-old local publican Oran, who has lived in the Boston area for almost 17 years, explains how the once-in-a-lifetime gig came about in the first place.

“It’s been a mad few days,” he smiled.

“It started after Ed’s staff met us last year. We took care of them at the Dubliner and they paid it back to us with a pop-up [performance].”

‘Started to get crazy’

Oran reveals how the whole thing had to be kept on the down-low.

“We started organising about a week before Paddy’s Day; involving lots of emails with management, sound techs and security teams.”

“We kept it all a secret with only two or three people knowing. He posted it then in a community app he uses for his fans. That’s when it started to get crazy. We opened the windows up and let him play out into the street where around 500 people had showed up to catch a glimpse too.”

Moville man Oran added: “He played along with Derry group Beoga and Dubliner Aaron Rowe. He played an hour-long set and then hung around for ten minutes afterwards. He took time to have a wee chat with me and he took a selfie.”

“I had a friend make him a pair of custom Air Jordans also, which we gave to him.”

Redhead Sheeran was born in Yorkshire, England but his Irish roots are well-documented. His grandmother, who died in 2023, was from County Wexford and the star has often spoken of his pride for his Irish heritage.

He wrote to his 49 million followers on Instagram: “Boston for Paddy’s day with @beogamusic, what a gaff.”

There’re two other Donegal links to the amazing story. Greencastle businesswoman Laura Bonner, a founder of the Muff Liquor Company, was also there for the Sheeran show, while the chef at the Dubliner, Aidan McGee, hails from Donegal Town.