--- title: Ed Sheeran Sings to Dying Teen Triona Priestley description: Ed Sheeran sings to dying teen just before she passes away. canonical: https://time.com/48270/ed-sheeran-reportedly-sang-to-dying-teen-moments-before-she-died/ author: Olivia B. Waxman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-03T15:23:26.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T07:08:27.900Z og:title: Ed Sheeran Sang to Dying Teen Moments Before She Died og:description: The song was "Little Bird" og:url: https://time.com/48270/ed-sheeran-reportedly-sang-to-dying-teen-moments-before-she-died/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa5a21f107320680/698688b5cd6848a5a1093f01/sheeran-ed-triona-priestley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: sheeran-ed-triona-priestley og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Ed Sheeran Sang to Dying Teen Moments Before She Died twitter:description: The song was "Little Bird" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa5a21f107320680/698688b5cd6848a5a1093f01/sheeran-ed-triona-priestley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Ed Sheeran Reportedly Sang to Dying Teen Moments Before She Died > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=cf18ec11-d378-4d59-b226-5456c231a5cb&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1)  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 3, 2014 3:23 PM UTC  In this Sept. 18, 2013 file photo, English singer songwriter Ed Sheeran performs in concert at the Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. In this Sept. 18, 2013 file photo, English singer songwriter Ed Sheeran performs in concert at the Carpenter Center at the University of Delaware in Newark, Del. Owen Sweeney / Invision / AP  by [Olivia B. Waxman](https://time.com/author/olivia-b-waxman/)  ## Olivia B. Waxman Staff Writer Apr 3, 2014 3:23 PM UTC Ed Sheeran reportedly helped make a dying girl’s dream come true, just moments before she passed away. Spurred by a Twitter campaign called [#SongForTri](https://twitter.com/search?q=%23SongForTri&src=typd), the musician called Triona Priestley, a 15-year-old teen in Dublin, Ireland who suffered from cystic fibrosis, and sang “Little Bird” to her before she drifted off into a deep sleep, The _Los Angeles Times_ [reports](http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/gossip/la-et-mg-ed-sheeran-sings-to-dying-girl-little-bird-songfortri-20140402,0,4589513.story#axzz2xpWA7RwN) via Ireland’s [Independent.ie](http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-sang-her-to-sleep-family-of-irish-teen-triona-grateful-for-final-moments-as-her-wish-is-granted-30141844.html) and British news outlets. According to [_The Daily Mail_](http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2594785/Ed-Sheeran-sings-dying-Irish-girl-minutes-passes-away-cystic-fibrosis.html), a friend of the teen named Lucy Hanlon posted to Facebook that Sheeran’s manager got in touch with her to arrange the call, and the teen’s brother Colm confirmed to [Independent.ie](http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/ed-sheeran-sang-her-to-sleep-family-of-irish-teen-triona-grateful-for-final-moments-as-her-wish-is-granted-30141844.html) that she passed away shortly after she was serenaded. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/48270/ed-sheeran-reportedly-sang-to-dying-teen-moments-before-she-died/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/48270/ed-sheeran-reportedly-sang-to-dying-teen-moments-before-she-died/"},"headline":"Ed Sheeran Reportedly Sang to Dying Teen Moments Before She Died","datePublished":"2014-04-03T15:23:26.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:08:27.900Z","description":"The song was \"Little Bird\"","url":"https://time.com/48270/ed-sheeran-reportedly-sang-to-dying-teen-moments-before-she-died/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Appreciation"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltaa5a21f107320680/698688b5cd6848a5a1093f01/sheeran-ed-triona-priestley.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Olivia B. 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