Ed Sheeran credits his love of Irish music for kickstarting his superstar career, in a chat on The Late Late Show tonight.
The Galway Girl singer tells how he was a huge fan of Irish musician Damien Rice, who was his inspiration.
Ed - whose Wexford grandmother Nancy Sheeran was laid to rest this week - says: "I spent my whole life idolising him.
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"I would not be a singer/songwriter if I had not gone to Whelan's in Dublin and seen him play."
The pair have since become friends, after Ed tracked Damien down a few years ago.
Looking at a picture of himself busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street as a youngster, he tells Tubs: "I can guarantee you I was singing a Damien Rice song.
"I ended up properly meeting him the other day.
"It had been such a long time since I have been obviously young and seen him at Whelan’s.
"I just sort of knocked on his door and we went for a long walk and a big catch-up. And it's weird... it was like hanging out with an old friend, like we got on instantly.
"And now we email all the time and catch up and we share songs.
"We had like a 12-hour chat, and it was like, it was such a nice full circle moment. Because I spent my whole life idolising him and also shouting him out at every opportunity.
"Because I would not be a singer/songwriter had I not gone to Whelan’s and watched Damien Rice play."
Damien, from Co Kildare, had huge international success in the 2000s, with hits such as Cannonball and The Blower’s Daughter.
Ed meets fans at the special Late Late Show, where he plays acoustic performances of his hit singles Perfect and Eyes Closed, as well as songs from his album Subtract, which is released today.
He tells the audience: "I make music for me. And I sit in my room, and I write songs that make me feel happy."
The interview was pre-recorded in March, before Ed lost beloved grandmother Nancy on April 25.
Tune in to The Late Late Show tonight at 9.35pm on RTE One to see the full interview with Ed Sheeran and hear him perform some of his songs from new album Subtract.
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