Ed Sheeran is expanding his music foundation to Ireland with the launch of North South Sounds 2026, a cross-border project bringing together young people from Cork and Belfast. Fifty participants will perform their first creations outside Belfast City Hall on 3 August during Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann 2026.
Having supported state schools and local music organisations in England, the Ed Sheeran Foundation is crossing the Irish Sea. The British singer has chosen Belfast and the world’s largest festival of traditional Irish music to launch its first programme on the island.
Called North South Sounds 2026, the project aims to bring together young musicians from Cork in the Republic of Ireland and Belfast in Northern Ireland. It is a cultural and human initiative that uses music-making to break down borders and encourage connections.
Ed Sheeran’s foundation comes to Ireland
A first project between Cork and Belfast
For the first time, the Ed Sheeran Foundation is funding an Irish cross-border programme. The initiative is organised in partnership with Music Generation Cork City and Belfast’s Oh Yeah Music Centre, two organisations committed to giving young people access to music-making.
Between July and December 2026, North South Sounds will support 150 children and teenagers from the two cities. They will work on songwriting, composition, performance and collaborative creation.
The project is not solely intended to identify future professionals. Above all, it aims to make music-making more accessible, build participants’ confidence and foster connections between young people living at opposite ends of the island.
Fifty young musicians set to perform at the Fleadh Cheoil
A first performance outside Belfast City Hall
The public launch of North South Sounds 2026 will take place on Monday, 3 August as part of Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann. Fifty young participants from Cork and Belfast will perform outside Belfast City Hall.
They will present several collaborative works prepared during workshops held before the festival. The performance will mark the first public stage of a programme set to continue until the end of the year.
The choice of the Fleadh Cheoil is particularly symbolic. From 2 to 9 August 2026, Belfast will host for the first time this major gathering dedicated to traditional Irish music and dance. More than 180 competitions, concerts, street performances and numerous informal sessions are planned across the city.
The festival also aims to highlight Belfast’s cultural diversity. In this context, the meeting of young artists from the north and south of the island fits fully with the spirit of this year’s edition.
From traditional Irish music to hip-hop
A programme open to the new generation’s influences
North South Sounds will not be limited to traditional repertoire. The young artists will be encouraged to blend Irish and folk sounds with contemporary genres such as pop, rock and hip-hop.
The workshops will be led by professionals from Music Generation Cork City, the Oh Yeah Music Centre, Creative Tradition and The Kabin Studio. The latter organisation, based in Cork, supports young artists with songwriting, recording and music production.
Following the Belfast launch, the programme will continue with new collaborations and performances devised by participants in Cork and Belfast. Non-residential summer camps will also allow around 100 additional young people to join the initiative.
The project will therefore involve 150 participants in total: 50 young people taking part in the first work presented at the Fleadh Cheoil, and a further 100 joining the associated summer programmes.
Why Ed Sheeran chose Ireland
Family roots and a long-standing connection with the island
Ed Sheeran has long had a special relationship with Ireland. The singer has Irish family roots and has regularly spoken of his attachment to the country, where he has performed many times.
“I’ve spent a huge amount of time in the country over the years. With my family roots, it has always been a special place for me,” the artist said when announcing the project.
The Fleadh Cheoil is familiar territory for him. In 2025, when the festival was held in Wexford, Ed Sheeran surprised crowds by joining musicians at The Sky and The Ground pub. He performed several songs, combining his own material with traditional Irish tunes.
By launching his first Irish programme during the Belfast edition, the singer is extending his connection with a festival built on passing on traditions, collective music-making and encounters between generations.
A foundation dedicated to music education
Championing access to music for every child
Created in 2025, the Ed Sheeran Foundation supports music education in state schools and community organisations. It funds instruments, training, extracurricular projects and local organisations that support young musicians.
Since launching in England, the foundation has supported 22 charities and youth clubs. It also works to raise awareness among policymakers so that music retains an important place in education.
Ed Sheeran sees music-making as a means of expression and empowerment. “Every child should have the opportunity to learn and take part in music,” he said when announcing the arrival of his foundation in Ireland.
This ambition aligns with that of Music Generation, Ireland’s national music education programme. Active in 29 areas, the network gives children and young people local access to singing, instrumental lessons and group music-making. In 2024, it said it had supported 132,500 participants across Ireland.
A music project linking the north and south of Ireland
Artistic creation as a space to connect
The cross-border dimension is one of the defining features of North South Sounds 2026. By bringing together young people from Cork and Belfast, the programme creates a shared space that goes beyond administrative borders and differences in background.
Music serves as a shared language here. Participants will be able to compare their influences, discover other traditions and create original pieces together. The significance of the project therefore lies not only in the performance on 3 August, but also in the collective process that will have led to it.
The launch outside Belfast City Hall will give these young artists a particularly high-profile stage. Among established musicians, dancers and the thousands of Fleadh Cheoil visitors, they will represent a new generation able to bring traditional Irish music into dialogue with contemporary sounds.
