Shane MacGowan funeral – latest: Johnny Depp, Bono and Bob Geldof give readings at Tipperary service
The Fairytale of New York singer will be given a private cremation in Nenagh
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Your support makes all the difference.Thousands of mourners including Irish leaders and the country’s biggest celebrities have gathered to pay their respects to Shane MacGowan, the iconic singer of The Pogues, on Friday.
The irrepressible frontman, known for songs including “Fairytale of New York” and “Pair of Brown Eyes”, died last week aged 65. Songs by the band are already playing on loop in the town of Nenagh, where a public mass will be held on Friday at 3.30pm ahead of a private cremation.
It comes after his widow Victoria Mary Clarke said the cause of Shane’s death was pneumonia. MacGowan had suffered from a number of health issues over the years, and had recently been discharged from hospital in Dublin, where he was being treated for encephalitis.
She posted: “Shane hated funerals and he refused to go to them with a few rare exceptions.
“So it’s incredible to think that so many people want to come to his and that so many beautiful people are pouring their hearts and souls into making it magnificent and magical and memorable for him and for us who are left behind.”
Mourners asked to exit church to make way for MacGowan’s casket to come through
The church is so packed that mourners are being asked to exit the church to make way for MacGowan’s casket to come through.
Then a lucky few will be allowed back in. Mourners had to be reminded that this is a funeral after a joyous run-through of “Fairytale of New York”.
An in-depth look at Shane MacGowan, shy and complex genius behind The Pogues
The Independent’s music editor Roisin O’Connor paid tribute to Shane MacGowan as a “shy, complex genius” as his death was announced last week.
Of his artistic talents, she wrote that from “MacGowan’s cavernous mouth, littered with a few eroded excuses for teeth, came some of the greatest poetry (or Poguetry) of the 20th century”.
“Informed by his voracious love of literature, from Oscar Wilde to James Joyce (he read Ulysses when he was 10 years old), MacGowan’s songs melded punk with traditional Irish folk, producing immortal songs such as ‘The Old Main Drag’, ‘A Pair of Brown Eyes’ and, of course, ‘Fairytale of New York’.”
Here’s the obituary in full:
Shane MacGowan, shy and complex genius behind The Pogues, dies aged 65
Musician had just returned home to be with his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, after a lengthy stay in hospital
Glen Hansard from the Commitments and Lisa O’Neil perform ‘Fairy Tale Of New York’ during soundcheck
Standing room only as The Commitments star Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neil perform “Fairy Tale Of New York” during the soundcheck inside St Mary’s of the Rosary Church in Nenagh.
This was the only time the hundreds packed inside were allowed to applaud with Shane’s father requesting silence between songs during the ceremony.
Victoria Mary Clarke as her car journeys from Dublin to Nenagh for Shane MacGowan’s funeral mass.
At the procession, Irish school pupils held up signs in tribute to MacGowan, reading “You helped the world to fall in, you’re on your way” and “RIP to the Irish Rover, Grá [love]”.
A stone tribute rests outside of the church in Nenagh where Shane MacGowan’s funeral mass will take place in less than two hours’ time.
Irish actor Aidan Gillen (Game of Thrones) appears to have arrived outside of St Mary’s of the Rosary Church ahead of the funeral mass this afternoon.
WATCH: Crowds sing Shane MacGowan's hits as funeral procession travels through Dublin
Pub landlord reveals that Shane MacGowan was ‘shy gent’
Despite MacGowan being a globally known musician with a reputation for wild behaviour, those who knew him off-stage remember him as being more introverted and quiet than his public persona suggested.
Philly Ryan, MacGowan’s favourite pub landlord, told The Independent that the “Fairytale of New York” singer “didn’t act like the huge rockstar he was”.
“Shane was very shy,” he continued. “I saw him on the Late, Late Show all the time and I asked him ‘what’s the matter with you? That’s not the Shane I know’. But he was very shy and nervous going on those talk shows.
“That hellraiser persona that was just fake. He would come to my pub and play pool on his own have a few drinks and while away his days relaxing.”
Barney Davis reports:
‘Shane MacGowan was no hellraiser - he was shy and had Christmas dinner at 8pm’
Shane MacGowan’s ‘hellraiser persona that was just fake’, his close friend, pub landlord and now undertaker Philly Ryan said
MacGowan’s widow thanks Irish police for assistance with procession
Victoria Mary Clarke, who was Shane MacGowan’s partner for decades before they married in 2018, has shared her gratitude to the Irish police for escorting the singer’s coffin.
The journalist wrote on Twitter: “Thank you so much GardaTraffic for your help today and for the escort for Shane MacGowan.”
The coffin was transferred from a horse-drawn carriage to a car ahead of the service being held in Nenagh, County Tipperary.
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