Greg WilliamsEd Sheeran’s one act of kindness three years ago will stay with one family forever.
Back in 2014, he serenaded a terminally ill 15-year-old fan named Triona Priestly, just moments before she succumbed to cystic fibrosis. Triona’s brother, Aiden, recently recalled the memory on Ireland’s The Ray D’Arcy Show.
“We were in this small little ICU room. Triona in this huge bed covered in tubes and machines,” he said on the show. “…My brother left the room. He returned then and said, ‘I’m just going to put you on loud speaker real quick,’ and he clicks it, then Ed Sheeran comes on saying, ‘Hi Triona. I hear you’re a big fan.’”
Ed then played Triona her favorite song, “Little Bird.” At some point during the serenade, Triona was peaceful enough to pass on.
Aiden said they were so grateful that Ed had called, but they ended up having to rush him off the phone.
“The doctor lifts the stethoscope to tell us her heart had stopped,” he said. “And we take the mask off because she’d been on a machine to breathe — and in that moment, I remember, a burst of light comes from the window and she smiled.”
Ed had been made aware of Triona’s situation by a Twitter campaign called #SongsForTri. After she passed, he tweeted, “Rest in peace Triona, so heartbreaking.”
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