Shane MacGowan’s funeral details confirmed – with thousands of famous fans expected to say goodbye
Days after he was killed by pneumonia, it’s been confirmed Shane MacGowan will be laid to rest at a public funeral expected to packed with thousands of mourners and his famous friends.
Shane MacGowan will be laid to rest at a public funeral expected to packed with thousands of mourners and his famous friends.
Details for The Pogues icon’s final farewell have been released after he was killed by pneumonia at his home on 30 November aged 65 after months of battling ill health.
His widow Victoria Mary Clarke confirmed her late spouse’s funeral will take place on Friday, 8 December in County Tipperary, where a mass will take place in the family's hometown of Nenagh, where Shane’s dad, Maurice, and sister, Siobhan, are believed to live.
The service, which has been extended to members of the public, will be held in St Mary of the Rosary Church – where Shane’s mum’s funeral was held in 2017.
It is expected mourners will include U2 frontman Bono, as well as Shane’s close long-time friend Johnny Depp.
Shane will be cremated privately after the service, with local councillor Seamus Morris telling RTE about the plan: “It will be a big funeral in Nenagh. It is an open funeral. It is open to everyone and we have a very big church in Nenagh. “People will be very welcome. There will be great stories told, there will be great friends of his that have met him over the years and celebrated life with him. They will all be very welcome to Nenagh.”
Cllr Morris added a string of mourners had already visited Philly Ryan’s pub in the town to share memories of Shane, saying: “He was a frequent visitor. (Shane) spent many a day in Philly’s pub and in other pubs around the area. “He’s a very well-known north Tipperary man and we are very proud of him.”
Victoria has also revealed Shane spent his final months bingeing on ‘Father Ted’ episodes.
She was quoted in The Sun saying about how he wouldn’t stop watching the Channel 4 sitcom about two hapless priests stuck on bleak Craggy Island:
“So he wouldn’t get bored we brought a little DVD player into Shane and friends have been giving him presents of classic movies on DVD.
“But the thing he won’t stop playing is the ‘Father Ted; boxset. Shane watches that all day long and can’t stop laughing.”
Shane had been in and out of hospital several times before his death, and was first hospitalised in December 2022 suffering from viral encephalitis, which leads to brain swelling and left him in agony.
Along with amusing himself with ‘Father Ted’ re-runs, Shane also revelled in being visited by a string of music stars.
They included Bruce Springsteen, 74, who visited Shane during the Irish leg of his recent world tour.
