14-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Irish Sun
‘Super emotional' Irish singer reveals ‘biggest fear' ahead of ‘special' Liverpool match song tribute for Diogo Jota
THE Irish singer who moved fans with her rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone in tribute to Diogo Jota has told how she only found out she was performing two days in advance.
Claudia Rose, from
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Cork woman Claudia Rose is married to former Preston and Ireland star Sean Maguire
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A tribute was paid to Diogo Jota during Liverpool's pre-season friendly at Preston on Sunday
Claudia - who is married to former Preston and
Speaking to
Claudia Rose believed she was only going to sing the Preston song Can't Help Falling in Love with You, and was comfortable with that having performed it two years ago at a match on New Year's Day.
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Eleven-times capped Sean - who played 159 times for Preston - found himself in hot water for a short while as Claudia Rose had to start practicing singing the Liverpool anthem at short notice.
Claudia Rose said: 'It was last Wednesday, we got the phone call to ask if I would fly in for the game.
"At the time I was told it was to sing Preston's anthem.
'It was Sean who took the call and then on Friday they asked me, 'Do you know you are singing the two songs?' I got such a shock.
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'I started blasting out You'll Never Walk Alone for two full days and I must have driven my neighbours mad.
'This was the first friendly match of the pre-season. It was always going to be a big game regardless because any time Preston has played Liverpool it's always been a massive thing.
Portugal manager in tears as fans hold up Diogo Jota pictures during Women's Euro minute's silence for Liverpool
'But obviously, because of Diogo and his brother Andre's deaths, there was a much bigger meaning behind it.'
The mum-of-one said she couldn't allow herself to become overly emotional as she didn't want to break down and cry in the middle of either song.
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She said: 'I am a very soft person. I was super emotional but I just didn't want to break down and cry.
'That was my biggest fear. And then it was weird as once I started singing I actually let the emotion go to the back of my head.
'I remember thinking, 'You have to get through this', because this is for the fans, for the
WORK PRIDE
"I said, 'Think of the job in hand', which I did.
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'It was afterwards the emotions hit. I had to take a few deep breaths and my legs went like jelly afterwards.'
Claudia Rose, 27, mainly sings at
She said: 'When I sing, it's the most important job I do as every time it means something to someone.
'Yesterday it was a different feeling as I felt I was doing it solely for the family and the fans so when it was over I felt a pride that I got through it.
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FAMILY TIME
"I can say I honoured everyone, especially Diogo and Andre, in the best way I could.'
Claudia is also involved in
She started an events company a few months after moving back to
She and hubby Sean, who plays for Cork City, moved home from
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She said: 'I wanted my family around me and I wanted to have him grow up with all my family around him and Sean's family who live in
BEST IDEA
'We were living in Preston for nearly eight years. It was such a familiar feeling getting back there.'
Claudia Rose and Sean met on Tinder.
She said: 'We used to lie about how we met for years and then we just said, 'What's the point in lying, we might as well be honest about it'. What a great ad we are for Tinder.'
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She added: 'Returning to Cork and Sean joining Cork City was one of the best things we have ever done.
'The club is struggling at the moment but if you were to take away the results it's the best thing we have done in his football career.
'Cork is amazing and everyone is like family. When you walk down the street people go, 'Hi Seanie.'"
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The game was Liverpool's first since the death of Diogo Jota
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Claudia Rose sang You'll Never Walk Alone and Can't Help Falling in Love at the game's opening