Sharon Corr tells Michael O’Leary ‘shame on you’ after Ryanair ‘refused’ to let her board flight

Sharon claimed she was refused boarding the Ryanair flight to Dublin on Sunday because of the instrument’s size.

The Corrs musician (54) took to social media over the weekend to say she was left in tears over the incident.

“Humiliated, angry and crying. Michael O’Leary shame one you,” Sharon wrote on Instagram.

Sharon, who has lived in Madrid since 2018, wrote that she was up for a 6am flight back to Dublin to rehearse for a forthcoming tour.

The situation began to unravel due to the size of her violin, leaving the singer in a state of disbelief.

“Today I was booked on a @ryanair flight. I got up at 6 in the morning I was not allowed on the flight because I had my violin. I was in the airport for 7 hours,’ Sharon wrote on Instagram.

“I had to return home after searching for my checked in bags. Humiliated, angry then crying as only a good woman can do.

“Why was I going to Dublin? My home turf, to rehearse, to go on tour! I’m beyond disappointed. Michael O’Leary shame one you.”

Under Ryanair rules, passengers can “carry any music equipment onboard as long as it fits within Cabin Bag allowance,” according to their website.

“For smaller music equipment like guitars or violins that exceed your cabin baggage dimensions, you can opt to pay an extra seat fare for it,” the company state.

“To do this, you must purchase an extra flight ticket and seat.

“If your equipment does not fit in your Cabin Bag allowance and you do not wish to purchase an extra seat, you can choose to check it in against payment of a fee.”

In relation to Sharon’s case, a Ryanair spokesperson told the Daily Mail: “This passenger was not refused travel from Madrid to Dublin (30 Jun).

“This passenger’s violin exceeded the cabin bag dimensions permitted for her flight, and therefore was required to pay a standard gate baggage fee to place it in the hold of the aircraft.

“This passenger refused to pay the standard fee and instead chose not to travel on this flight.”

However, on Monday evening, the Dundalk artist hit back against the airline, again claiming she was refused to travel.

“Tisk, tisk Ryanair. ‘This passenger refused to pay the standard fee (note standard gate baggage fee to place it in the hold of the aircraft) and instead chose not to travel on this flight,’ is not factual.

“I offered to buy a seat for my violin and was refused! You cannot place a violin in the hold as obviously it is a fragile instrument. I was refused by them to travel.”

The Corrs are supporting Shania Twain in London this weekend before a number of gigs in Spain.

Sharon currently lives in Spanish capital with her two children, Cathal and Flori, after having divorced her husband of 18 years, lawyer Gavin Bonnar, five years ago.

Speaking to Miriam O’Callaghan on her RTÉ Radio 1 show in April, Sharon revealed that getting divorced was one of the best decisions she’s ever made as she “learnt so much” from the “storm” of her marriage breakdown.

“As a woman, I love being single and I am probably one of the happiest divorced women on the planet,” she laughed.

“It is coming up on five years now and I am delighted I did it.

“It really, really pushed lessons in front of me that if I didn’t learn I would either stay on this safe fence or I would get off and do something about it,” she added.

Sharon admitted that it was unlikely that she’d tie the knot again, adding that the idea gave her the “heebie jeebies”, but she hasn’t completely closed herself off.

“I have changed my opinions on so many things and it is really important to be open to things,” the Louth woman said.

“The things you should do are the things you fear.”

The Corrs currently have 10 dates lined up between Ireland and the UK from now until the end of the year.