Ed Sheeran says that he's written two "full-on Irish trad songs" about Galway and Wexford for his new album and that he's on the lookout for ceili dancers to appear in a video which he will be shooting in Ireland very soon.

Speaking on the Eoghan McDermott Show on 2fm on Monday afternoon, Sheeran said that his new trad direction would feature on his upcoming third album, ÷ [Divide].

"I've actually got a song on the new album which I think is really gonna explode in Ireland. It would be something to do with the county of Galway. I've got a trad band called Beoga, they're actually from Belfast. It's a fiddle, a pipe, a bodhran and piano and we really jam.

"It's gonna be really good but I think I will never be able to play another song in Ireland again because that one will just be the song."

Sheeran, who made music streaming history on Friday with his two comeback singles, also promised to release "a couple of more" new songs before the official release of ÷ [Divide] later this year.

"I should be over in Ireland soon so I'll probably put something out then. I'm definitely shooting a video for one of the songs in Ireland and I will be doing a casting because I need proper ceili dancers."

He added that there would also be a song about Wexford, the home county of his grandmother, on the bonus edition of the new album. "There are two full on Irish jams on there."

The singer also talked about his year-long hiatus and the health kick he underwent when he realised his weight had ballooned.

"When I took the year off, I got rid of my phone completely so even if people were trying to contact me, I had no idea so I finished the tour and literally got rid of my phone, went home, realised I was fifteen and a half stone and needed to jog a bit. I spent a couple of months being healthy and going on runs.

"I bought a bike so I started cycling everywhere and then went travelling, which was really fun, then came home and made the album, scrapped the album, made the album again and here we are. I scrapped it because it just wasn't good enough.

"It was good as in x good but I can't just have something coming out like that - I needed to defecate on the second album. The new album needs to be miles ahead."

Alan Corr @corralan