Kurt Cobain and Bill Clinton both thought to have links to here after pop megastar becomes official Derry girl Taylor Swift performs at the Murrayfield Stadium in Edinburgh (Jane Barlow/PA) Pop megastar Taylor Swift has been dubbed an official ‘Derry Girl’ after researchers revealed her ancestral ties to the north west. But there are a number of other famous faces from the world of music, film and even international politics who also have close familial ties to Northern Ireland — who you might not have realised. Earlier this week, EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum discovered that Taylor’s link to Northern Ireland started 172 years ago, on June 11, 1836, when her great-great-great grandparents Susan Davis and Francis Gwynn — both 21 — emigrated from Ireland to the USA, aboard the ship Amy sailing from Londonderry.
Three years after their two-month-long voyage culminated in the ship docking in Philadelphia on August 20, the couple married and had six children named Ann, John, William, Francis, Joseph, and Mary — Taylor Swift’s great-great-grandmother. As Taylor Swift’s ancestral ties allude to, more than 10million Irish people left these shores for a life elsewhere. Ed Sheeran was the most played artist in the UK across radio, TV and in public places in 2023 (Hannah McKay/PA) Another historic love story also has links to another musical giant currently dominating the charts — Ed Sheeran.
In 2017, after the release of his Divide album, Ed shared some family hi.