Shane MacGowan: The Pogues singer’s funeral to be held in Tipperary

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Born in Kent, MacGowan was the son of Irish immigrants and fronted The Pogues from 1982 until their break-up in 2014

The funeral of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan will take place later on Friday in Nenagh, County Tipperary.

The Fairytale of New York singer died aged 65 on 30 November following a recent hospital stay after being diagnosed with encephalitis.

Irish President Michael D Higgins and stars of the music industry are among those expected to attend.

Before the funeral mass in Nenagh, there will be a procession through Dublin on Friday morning.

The procession will take place around the south inner city, near where MacGowan lived in Ballsbridge.

Later in the afternoon, the funeral will take place close to where the singer spent summers as a boy, at his mother’s family cottage – these formative days had a huge influence in his love of Irish music and culture, and the eventual sound of The Pogues.

Shane MacGowan in the 1980s, performing with The Pogues

What are the funeral arrangements?

The funeral procession around the south inner city is expected to last about 45 minutes from 11:00 to 11:45 local time.

The procession will involve a horse-drawn carriage, led by the Artane Band and a piper.

It will begin at the junction of South Lotts Road and Ringsend Road and travel across McMahon Bridge and down Pearse Street to the junction of Lombard Street East and Westland Row.

From there it will travel onto Fenian Street, ending on Denzille Lane.

After this, the hearse and family cars will leave for Nenagh, where the funeral mass will take place in St Mary of the Rosary Church at 15:30.

The chief celebrant will be Fr Pat Gilbert, the co-parish priest.

After the funeral, another procession will take place through the County Tipperary town where the public will be given a final chance to pay their respects.

MacGowan will then be cremated in a private ceremony.

Who is expected to attend?

The funeral mass is open to the public and expected to be attended by a large number of people, including leading figures from the music industry and fans and the Irish president.

The singer had many close friends in the entertainment industry including Bono, Nick Cave and Johnny Depp.

MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke said on Instagram that he “meant the world to me”.

She wrote: “I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it. Shane… has gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese.”

A rainy morning in Dublin

Ciaran McCauley reports from the Irish capital

It’s probably fitting that Dublin, Shane MacGowan’s home city for many years with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, is this morning blanketed in a thick layer of cloud, which is threatening at any moment to empty its payload on the city.

Rain and weather was a theme of MacGowan’s lyrics – you can’t have that night in Soho without the rain, the morning light at Albert Bridge without the mist. He was Irish after all.

On Friday morning, the city will turn out to say farewell to the Kent-born, London-raised punk turned bard of the Irish immigrant experience.

Thousands are expected to line the streets of the south inner city, not far from MacGowan’s home in Ballsbridge.

Later, his funeral will take place in County Tipperary, close to his mother’s family cottage, where he grew to love Irish culture and music as a boy – where the seed was sown for the Pogue to come.

MacGowan sang at V Festival in 2008

Shane MacGowan’s colourful life

Born in Kent, MacGowan was the son of Irish immigrants and fronted The Pogues from 1982 until their break-up in 2014.

In 1987, Kirsty MacColl collaborated with The Pogues for the Christmas song Fairytale of New York, written by MacGowan, which got to number two in the UK chart and remains one of the best-loved Christmas songs.

The 65-year-old singer-songwriter had been unwell for some time before his death.

He revealed he was diagnosed with encephalitis last year in a video posted to social media on New Year’s Eve.

It is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, according to the NHS website.

He had also used a wheelchair since 2015 after injuring himself in a fall, and had well-documented problems with drugs and alcohol.

A statement from MacGowan’s spokesperson confirmed he died “peacefully” at 03:30 on 30 November “with his wife and sister by his side”.

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