Legendary Irish musician Shane McGowan remembered in star-studded funeral and memorial service

Shane McGowan passed away on the morning of November 30 at the age of 65 after a long and serious illness.

“I know the pub where [bēru viesi] will go to a feast, 10 thousand euros have already been paid, it was Shane’s last wish,” one of Shane’s constant drinking partners told “The Independent” newspaper after the musician’s funeral. “It’s a beautiful place outside the city, but only a limited number of people will be allowed inside.”

In this pub, where under normal circumstances there would be no bouncers, ten security guards guarded the peace of the chosen company of guests for Shane McGowan’s funeral feast. Among the guests were Hollywood star and Shane’s long-time friend Johnny Depp, Scottish rock band Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, as well as members of Shane’s band The Pogues, while Glenn Hansard performed the band’s most famous composition ‘Fairytale of New York’ in the bar – just like the churches at the farewell ceremony a few hours ago. One of the participants of the event admitted that the “nail of the evening” was “The Body of an American” performed by Shane’s former bandmates.

Shane’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, who was with Shane for at least 35 years, spent most of the evening talking to Depp, who has been very supportive of her since her husband’s death. “Johnny is one of the sweetest angels and I know Shane really appreciated that he was always so respectful and accepting of every aspect of who he was, even when many wrote him off as a hopeless addict whose time has passed,” she said. wrote on his Instagram account. “Seeing how much Johnny admired Shane was a great encouragement and strength during some really tough times, and I’m forever grateful to him for always seeing Shane as nothing but flawless, great and beautiful.”

Johnny Depp once called Shane his friend “in life and whiskey.” They had been friends for over 30 years since meeting in a pub. The famous actor once admitted that he fell in love with Shane as a friend the first time they met.

In a 2020 interview, Depp talked about the circumstances of dating. At that time, Shane tried to keep his balance at the pool table. “In one hand was a pint to drink, in the other hand was a guitar. And he swayed back and forth, trying to figure out which side to fall on. I watched him like that for about 15 minutes. Then I was introduced to him before he went down and from that moment I knew … there are moments in life when you know it’s only going to happen once, when you get to spend time with greatness. Having known him for a long, long time, I can only say that I fell in love with him the second I met him and still do to this day,” Depp was quoted as saying by buzz.ie. “His wife Victoria is a wonderful partner for Shane, they are the best of friends and I’ve seen that continue over the years in all the pressures.”

Shane’s memorial service was also held nearby at his longtime friend and funeral director Philip Ryan’s Philly’s Bar.

Shane McGowan’s funeral began in Dublin, where The Pogues frontman’s coffin was carried through the streets of Dublin in a hearse, with the Artane Band of young musicians from the Artane School of Music and a bagpiper leading the procession. The group of this music school was founded in 1872, it has played in front of all Irish presidents and prime ministers, as well as three US presidents and three British monarchs. It traditionally performs the Irish national anthem at the country’s main stadium in Dublin’s 80,000-capacity “Croke Park” before the finals of Ireland’s national sports.

The coffin was then taken by car to County Tipperary, where he once spent his childhood, and to the Church of St. Mary, Queen of the Rosary (St. Mary of the Rosary) a funeral mass was held. Irish President Michael Higgins was among the guests of the funeral, Johnny Depp was among the speakers, and Nick Cave and the remaining musicians of “The Pogues” were among the performers.

After a farewell ceremony, Shane McGowan’s remains were cremated and his ashes are to be scattered on Ireland’s longest river, the Shannon, which inspired one of The Pogues’ most famous songs, The Broad Majestic Shannon.

On December 6, 2022, he was hospitalized with encephalitis. His wife said that Shane was feeling normal, but he was upset that he couldn’t drink in the hospital. In the summer of this year, he was hospitalized again with an infection, now in a serious condition. A week after his discharge, he died at his home in Dublin, having received the last sacrament from a priest. A statement from McGowan’s spokesman said he “passed away peacefully this morning (November 30) at 3.30am with his wife and sister by his side”.

His wife Victoria Mary Clarke said on Instagram that McGowan “meant the world to me”. She wrote: “I don’t know how to say this so I’m just going to say it. Shane… has gone to Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Teresa.”

Back on November 22, McGowan’s wife Clarke announced that the musician had left hospital, and just days later she revealed that the couple were celebrating their wedding anniversary and were grateful to be “still alive”.

McGowan was legendary not only for his music, but for his excesses – drug and alcohol use. He was one of those rock musicians whose excesses didn’t seem to diminish his creative talent.

He once boasted that most of his 300 songs were written while intoxicated. “I didn’t join the band to drink milk,” he said.

Shane Patrick McGowan was born in Kent on December 25, 1957, when his Irish parents were visiting relatives. He spent the first six years of his childhood in a rural idyll in Tipperary before his family moved to England. He lived there for much of his life, expressing the musical sensibilities of an Irish exile, although he later moved to Ireland.

McGowan’s mother was an award-winning traditional Irish singer and his father was a writer. When he was 12, Shane won a scholarship to the prestigious Westminster Public School. However, he failed to fit in there and was expelled at the age of 16 after being caught using drugs. He began working in London record shops and bars to satisfy his love of music and drink.

McGowan was inevitably drawn to the energy and chaos of the punk movement. He first made public news when he was photographed with a bloody ear bitten at a concert by The Clash. The picture was then placed in the newspapers with the somewhat exaggerated headline “Cannibalism at a clash concert”.

When McGowan created “Pogue Mahone” (“Kiss My Arse” in English), he was finally able to mix punk frenzy with Irish poetry and the sentimentality of his lyrics to huge critical and commercial acclaim. Between 1984 and 1990, the group, whose name was diplomatically shortened to “The Pogues”, released five albums, with songs such as “A Pair of Brown Eyes” and “A Rainy Night in Soho” hailed as rock classics.

Although he was later praised for reviving pub and rebel songs with his punk arrangements, the songs were initially viewed less favorably by some in the Irish community, accusing him of bringing their music into disrepute for the Irish.

Shane McGowan with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke

Once singer Sinead O’Connor – who this summer passed away at the age of 56 and also earned a grand funeral – calling the police when they saw him using heroin, which later kicked him off the habit. But McGowan continued to ignore doctors’ warnings about alcohol.