ED Sheeran is excited to return to the stage in Páirc Uí Chaoimh, revealing that fans may again spot him in a Cork City pub following his sold-out gig tonight.

“I will definitely head out for a couple,” the star said. “But lie-ins are no longer a thing now that my daughter is on tour with me so I’m trying to go a little bit easier.” 

Tonight’s concert will mark the beginning of Sheeran’s two-day Leeside stint, with 70,000 people set to attend the Cork leg of the Mathematics Tour.

The last time the British singer-songwriter visited the Rebel County was during his Divide Tour, where he played for over 100,000 Cork fans.

“I haven’t been [to Cork] since 2018 when I did the last shows so I’m really excited to get back. 

"It’s such a beautiful part of the world,” Sheeran told Red FM ahead of this week’s gigs.

With his paternal routes tracing back to Ireland, the decision to start his year-long tour here was a natural one. The ‘Shape of You’ singer even revealed that he has family living in Cork.

“I have a bunch of cousins and uncles and aunts that live there so I just hung out with them and got taken around. It was good fun,” he said of his last visit.

“They live all over Cork. My cousin Lee came on tour with me before. I actually know all of my Irish cousins from birth.” 

The new dad was also spotted in a Cork pub during his last trip. While he plans to venture into the city again this week, his daughter Lyra, who was born last summer, is his priority this time around.

“I won’t lie, I think I finished at 5am or 6am last time and she was up at 6am this morning,” he said.

“The routine actually fits professional tour life. I play with my daughter, I have a little workout, and I eat a healthy breakfast. This is a healthier tour.” 

Sheeran may even be spotted taking a walk around the marina, having asked former Olympian Rob Heffernan where the best place to stroll was.

Commenting on what people can expect at the gigs, Sheeran said that fans will enjoy fireworks, flames, and a range of his greatest hits.

“The setlist is essentially the greatest hits. There’s going to be different sets each night with different songs which will be good,” he said.

“The stage is kind of like a spaceship. It does so many things. There's basically parts of it that move up and down and it moves around. 

"We’ve got flames, we’ve got fireworks. I’ve gone all bells and whistles.”