The details of Shane MacGowan‘s funeral have now been released.
The lead singer of The Pogues died on November 30 aged 65, passing away peacefully surrounded by friends and family.
Tributes have poured in from his family and the entertainment world. His wife Victoria Mary Clarke called him “the most beautiful soul”, whilst close friend Nick Cave said MacGowan was “the greatest songwriter of his generation”. Bruce Springsteen had similar praise, calling the singer “one of my all-time favourite writers”. You can find a running list of tributes here.
Today (December 4), the details of his funeral have now been revealed. MacGowan will have his funeral held in Co. Tipperary on Friday (December 8). The singer spent his childhood growing up in Tipperary before leaving aged 6 for Kent.
MacGowan’s funeral Mass will be open to the public and is to be held in Nenagh, which is near where his mother Therese was originally from.
President of Ireland Michael D Higgins is reportedly likely to attend, along with other musicians who are set to travel to the funeral.
There is currently a campaign to get The Pogues’ hit ‘Fairytale of New York’ to Number One for Christmas in honour of the singer’s death. His wife Victoria has also supported the campaign saying she was “very much in favour” of the track topping the charts.
So far, the track has entered the Official Charts Top 40 at Number 18, and is expected to climb even higher in the following weeks. If the song hits Number One, it will be the first time it has ever topped the charts, having reached its peak of Number Two upon initial release in 1987.
MacGowan’s sister Siobhan has also shared how the song “captured what Christmas was like” for a lot of people, adding: “I was very impressed that, finally, there was a Christmas song that portrayed real life more than the other Christmas songs did.”
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