What an experience! Meeting Ed a dream come true for Shane
A 13-YEAR- OLD County Wexford boy got the surprise of his life when he met his idol Ed Sheeran in Dublin last week – all thanks to a radio competition and the generosity of his big sister.
Shane Fortune, from Enniscorthy town, met the ‘Shape Of You’ hitmaker after his sister Lisa (23) won two VIP tickets in a Beat 102-103 competition for a ‘meet and greet’ with Sheeran before one of his sold-out concerts at the 3Arena.
Shane, who has Down’s syndrome, knew nothing of his sister’s win until they got to the backstage room at the concert venue, and – according to Lisa – he was stuck for words when he realised what was happening.
He could not believe his eyes when Ed Sheeran, whose grandmother lives in Wexford, greeted him with a big smile and a handshake.
‘All Shane could say to him were one-word answers, which is not like him. Ed was so nice to him. He chatted away to Shane and signed his CD, VIP pass and his T-shirt. I could barely talk so I just took a video and the pictures,’ said Lisa.
She said it only hit Shane that he had met the famous singer when he came out of the room. ‘He could not stop jumping around, smiling and laughing. It was a dream come true for him as he really likes Ed.’
It was all a far cry from the disappointment Lisa and Shane felt after failing to secure tickets in the rush to buy in early February.
‘We missed out on the tickets for Ed when they went on sale and I was devastated,’ said Lisa.
She says she was determined to win Beat’s competition but was stunned when Niall from Beat Breakfast phoned to say she had.
When Beat contacted her the morning of the competition final they didn’t immediately reveal that she was a winner.
‘I answered the phone and all I could hear was, “Hi Lisa, this is Niall here from Beat Breakfast, we are just making sure all our qualifiers are up and awake before we do the draw”. I was a nervous wreck,’ said Lisa.
Lisa, who had no idea she had already won, spoke to Niall about how she would love the tickets for her younger brother Shane, a huge fan of Ed Sheeran.
When Niall finally broke the news to Lisa that her name had been pulled from the hat, she was so overwhelmed with emotion, she could hardly speak.
‘I just remember saying “Thank you so much, I can’t believe it”, I was in total shock and could not think straight.’
Lisa decided not to tell Shane about where they were going or who they were going to meet in Dublin last week.
‘I asked everyone who knew him not to say anything as I wanted to see his face when we walked into that room to see Ed, and it was amazing. I had to hold back my tears,’ said Lisa.
‘It was the best experiences of our lives and to share it as brother and sister was brilliant. I am just so happy I could make his dream come true for him,’ said Lisa.
Lisa said that they both enjoyed the concert and Shane could not stop smiling all the way home after meeting his idol.