The London Irish Centre has received a welcome funding boost after Ed Sheeran and Dermot O’Leary helped them rake in £250,000 on Wednesday night.

The event was fronted by Mr O’Leary and around 400 guests enjoyed the Irish food and drink on offer.

The acoustic concert from Mr Sheeran was followed by a question and answer session with the Camden-based X Factor presenter afterwards

The record-breaking artist also donated two signed guitars to be auctioned off. One fetched £20,000.

The centre, in Camden Square, was founded in 1954 to support the growing Irish community in London.

Gary Dunne, Director of Culture from The London Irish Centre said: ‘’The London Irish Centre charity has been providing care, culture and community to the city’s huge Irish population for over 60 years, and this event gave us the opportunity to both raise essential funds and also announce exciting plans for the future. We are deeply grateful to Dermot and Ed Sheeran, two stars who remain closely connected to their Irish roots, for joining us on this journey. Last night was a celebration of Irish culture, food and drink and we are very thankful to our team Ireland sponsors who supported us with this event.”