Shane MacGowan's widow hails Johnny Depp as 'most gracious of angels'
Shane MacGowan's widow Victoria Mary Clarke has described their friend Johnny Depp as "the most gracious of angels" for his support.
Shane MacGowan's widow has described Johnny Depp as "the most gracious of angels".
The 60-year-old star was among the mourners at the Pogues frontman's funeral and cremation over the weekend, and Victoria Mary Clarke has thanked him for his support following the musician's death last month aged 65.
In a lengthy and emotional Instagram post, she wrote: "[Johnny] is one of the most gracious of angels and I know that Shane really appreciated the way that he was so completely respectful, and accepting of every aspect of his being.
"[This was] even at times when a lot of people were dismissing him as being a hopeless addict and passed his prime.
"Seeing the adoration Johnny felt for Shane was a great source of encouragement and strength during some really tough times and I am eternally grateful to him for never seeing Shane as anything less than perfect and brillaitn and beautiful".
She described the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor as a "tower of strength" for her during such a tough time.
She added: "Thank you JD for being a tower of strength for me during these last few days and bless you from the bottom of my heart."
Victoria also spoke of the important of "support and friendship" to turn grief into "celebration of your loved one".
She wrote: "People who are loyal and devoted friends will show up for you and they can give you tremendous strength if you let them.
"In our lives me and [Shane] have been blessed with a great many devoted friends who have helped us in all kinds of ways when we were struggling or we needed a bit of moral support."
Johnny, who had played the guitar at the ‘Fairytale of New York’ singer’s wedding to Victoria in 2018, carried Shane’s coffin into the St Mary of the Rosary Church in Dublin, and delivered a reading of the Prayer of the Faithful during the funeral service.
During the reading, the actor paid his respects and admiration to Shane by labelling him as a music “maestro”.
He said: “We pray for a deeper spirit and compassion in the world. May we feel the pain of others, understand their need and reach out to all who suffer in any way with a continuous love that is rooted in faith and peace.”
Along with attending the funeral mass in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, on Friday (08.12.23), Johnny was also at the official wake until the early hours of Saturday (09.12.23) morning at the Thatched Cottage Pub in Ballycommon with around 250 other mourners.
He was also among thousands of people who signed the book of condolences on rip.ie, the obituary website dedicated to publishing death notices in Ireland.
