[Niamh.]

How sad is this? Good on Ed Sheeran though


'Ed Sheeran sang her to sleep' - Family of Irish teen Triona grateful for final moments as her wish is granted



Dublin teenager Triona Priestley died this afternoon, just minutes after receiving a phonecall from her idol Ed Sheeran.

The 15-year-old, who was seriously ill and in her final stages of battling cystic fibrosis, revealed her dying wish to hear from her favourite singer Ed Sheeran.

Following her death this afternoon, Triona's brother Colm thanked everyone who started and supported the #SongForTri campaign.

"Myself and my family would like to thank Ed Sheeran and everyone who started and supported the #SongForTri campaign," he told independent.ie this evening.

"What they gave us and her was a beautiful last moment together. Triona slipped into a sleep as Ed was singing to her and passed away shortly afterwards.

"So Ed Sheeran sang her to sleep.

"We would like to thank everyone who played their part in making that happen," he continued.

"We are all so proud of Triona and how she fought Cystic Fibrosis.

"Everyone loved Triona so much and she knew that. Thank you."

The family have appealed for privacy at this time.

'#SongForTri' trended on Twitter since Sunday evening as thousands of Triona's friends and family joined forces to try and contact the singer and make her dream happen.

Independent.ie became involved in the campaign to contact Ed Sheeran on behalf of Triona and her family when their efforts had proven unsuccessful earlier this week.

Sheeran confirmed to independent.ie this afternoon that he managed to speak to his biggest fan Triona shortly before lunchtime, making her dream come true.

"I managed to get in contact with Triona," Ed told independent.ie, "It's so sad."

After learning of Triona's death this evening, the singer tweeted; "Rest in peace Triona, so heartbreaking x."

Triona's friend Orla Tinsley wrote this blog prior to Triona's death about how much the wish meant to her:

Since last night #SongForTri has been filling up my timeline on Twitter.

It's a request from the friends of 15 year old Triona Priestley ( @Trionaaa ) to have her idol Ed Sheeran call her. Triona has Cystic Fibrosis and is dying.

I remember watching her being cradled by her Mom at a few months old in the corridor of St. Philomena's Ward in Temple Street Children's Hospital.

Her brother, Colm, was one of my best comrades when we were stuck 'on the inside' together. Today is Triona's 11th day in ICU. The doctors are still treating her but there is very little hope.

Her brother told me she is not afraid. Colm says she interrupts his guitar playing regularly to show him Ed Sheeran things. She loves music and acoustic guitar. 'It does something to my heart', she told her brother.

Her favorite song is Little Bird.

In 2009 Triona got back in touch with me via Facebook.

The blonde haired, blue eyed girl had seen me on The Late Late Show talking about Cystic Fibrosis.

The next day she walked into her classroom and told her teacher she wanted to talk to the class. Her friends knew that she was sick, in and out of hospital a lot, but they didn't know why.

She wrote to tell me that seeing an older woman with CF had made her confident. That she felt like she should be proud and decided it was time to explain why she was sick all the time. It was one of the most moving emails I have ever read.

She told me I was her hero and that she wanted to be a writer some day too. She was having trouble keeping up in school and hospital was driving her crazy but she was dealing with it all by writing poetry after consultant had told her to give it a try.

It was gut wrenching, heart felt and deeply affecting poetry wise beyond her years.

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