Tragic Newbridge teen Ben is remembered at Ed Sheeran concert in Dublin as star urges fans to 'look after' their mental health

By Kim O'Leary

A tragic Newbridge teen was last night fondly remembered with a poignant tribute from his idol Ed Sheeran at his concert in the Phoenix Park in Dublin as the star undertakes a weekend of concerts as part of his Irish tour.

Young Ben Moran Conlan passed away tragically on August 2015 aged just 18 years old, and the young man was a keen Ed Sheeran fan, prompting his family and close friends to launch a social media campaign to ask the star to sing Ben’s favourite song “Photograph”.

In a statement, pop star Ed Sheeran took to his official Facebook account to pay tribute to Ben, saying: “Very sad to hear the story of Ben Moran, sending my thoughts to his friends and family, many of whom I know are attending the Dublin shows this week. If you’ve been affected by suicide, Pieta House are here to help, http://Pieta.ie. Please look after yourselves x.”

Earlier this week, Ben’s neighbour Charlotte Wolf said that a tribute from Ed Sheeran would be like “winning the Lotto” for the young man’s family and friends.

Charlotte told Independent.ie: "He was my neighbour's son but he was the same age as my twins, when he was low he would have came in here a good bit and opened up, he would have spent a lot of time in my house. He loved Ed, from the first time we saw him in January 2013 that was it, we were absolutely gripped. Photograph was his favourite song, he loved it and in the run up to his death he just played it constantly. Ben was such a big fan of Ed's that the song that the lyrics "you won't ever be alone, wait for me to come home" are engraved on his headstone.”

Charlotte posted an appeal on Facebook for Sheeran to play the song in Ben's memory and she said it would be a dream come true if it happens.

"I just would love if Ed even mentioned Ben's name, how amazing would that be?

She also spoke fondly about what a special person Ben was.

Charlotte said: "Ben was amazing, he was a lovable rogue and I loved him like my own from the first day that I met him, there are so many memories of him from around my house.He was lovely, he adored his family, he adored his friends, he was a great footballer, his death was just heartbreaking."

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