Mourners have adorned the streets of Dublin for Shane MacGowan’s funeral procession today.
The Pogues singer died on November 30 following years of health battles and is being laid to rest in Nenagh, County Tipperary on Friday afternoon.
MacGowan grew up in the Irish town when he was a boy before leaving at the age of six and would often revisit.
In the year before his death, MacGowan was hospitalised for viral encephalitis in December 2022 and was admitted to the ICU in June this year.
His wife Victoria Mary Clarke announced the news of his death last week in a heartbreaking social media post and she returned to the platform on the day before his funeral with another touching message dedicated to her other half.
She penned: “Tomorrow is Shane’s funeral which is hard to believe and probably I won’t believe it for a while. Shane hated funerals and he refused to go to them with a few rare exceptions.
Shane MacGowan and his wife Victoria Mary Clarke share a selfie from the hospital earlier this year
TWITTER/VICTORIA MARY CLARKE
“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.
“I am feeling my heart bursting open in all directions with the amount of love that is being showered on us and most especially because everyone has their own problems and challenges and everyone has their own loved ones who they need to look after.
“I feel that Shane is with me all the time and that he is feeling intense appreciation and gratitude and that he is still sending love to everyone and maybe in a more powerful way from where he is now.”
Mourners echoed the sentiment held by Clarke as they spoke to the media prior to the procession making its way through Dublin.
Mourners for Shane MacGowan’s procession gather
PA
One mourner, Aidan Grimes, told PA: “I remember the first time I saw The Pogues in the Hammersmith Odeon in 1985. It is imprinted in my mind forever, just the madness and mayhem, the raucus nature of his singing and the music they were playing.
“Through the years he evolved into a great poet and he will be sadly missed.
“I met him in Dublin about 15 years ago and he was a very charming, nice, friendly man. He talked about music and his time in London. I thought it was important to pay my respects.
“He was an icon of Dublin, just like Brendan Behan, Luke Kelly. His music will be listened to in 100 years’ time.”
Mourners have gathered to pay their respects to Shane MacGowan
PA/GETTY
After MacGowan’s funeral, another procession is scheduled to take place through the County Tipperary town where members of the public will be given a final chance to pay their respects.
MacGowan will be cremated in a private ceremony attended by close family.
