Nick Cave, Aiden Gillen and Johnny Depp lead tributes to Shane MacGowan at his funeral
Johnny Depp and Nick Cave are among those who have paid tribute to the late Shane MacGowan during his funeral in Ireland.
The Irish singer-songwriter and former Pogues frontman died from pneumonia in hospital, aged 65, on November 30. It came after he had been diagnosed with encephalitis and had been in ill health.
Now, to celebrate the life and memory of the musician, fans lined the streets of Dublin for his funeral today (December 8), and famous faces from the entertainment world have arrived at the service.
Nick Cave performs 'A Rainy Night in Soho' at the funeral of Shane MacGowan in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, this afternoon. @virginmedianews pic.twitter.com/G17PmNYi1l
— Gavan Reilly (@gavreilly) December 8, 2023
The Hothouse Flowers singer Liam O’ Maonlai was among those in attendance for the service, as well as Irish DJ and author BP Fallon and actor Aiden Gillen (Game Of Thrones, Peaky Blinders).
It was Father Pat Gilbert who oversaw the ceremony – which took place at a church in Nenagh following a two-hour procession trip from Dublin – and he began the service by declaring it as a “statement of the love and esteem” the singer had during his life.
Irish politician Gerry Adams soon delivered the first reading of the service, telling the audience that he was asked by MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke to speak at the service. “My words are gratitude – gratitude for Shane’s genius, for his songs, for his creativity,” he said, adding that the musician “deepened our sense of Irishness and our humanity”.
“Your music will live forever, you are the measurer of our dreams,” he said towards the end of the speech.
Aiden Gillen also spoke at the service, reading Revelations Chapter 22, verses one to three, while MacGowan’s wife shared symbols of his life including a book of MacGowan’s art and lyrics, a statue of Buddha, some teabags and a copy of ‘Led Zeppelin II’.
It was announced that U2 frontman Bono was unable to attend the service, however, a recording was played out in his absence – with the Irish singer reading out the Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians.
Elsewhere, Irish singer Mundy and Camille O’Sullivan performed a rendition of ‘Haunted’ – the duet recorded by Shane MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor in 1995, and close friend Nick Cave sat by a piano to play the band’s 1986 song ‘A Rainy Night In Soho’.
Johnny Depp – who was a close friend of MacGowan – also appeared with others, reciting part of a prayer in memory of the singer. “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,” he said.
Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan and musician John Francis Flynn later appeared at the service, performing a cover of the traditional song ‘I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’, which was famously recorded by The Pogues in 1985.
MacGowan’s widow also paid tribute to her late husband yesterday ahead of the service.
“Tomorrow is Shane’s funeral which is hard to believe and probably I won’t believe it for a while,” began the post last night (December 7), while sharing a photo of them.
“Shane hated funerals and he refused to go to them with a few rare exceptions. So it’s incredible to think that so many people want to come to his and that so many beautiful people are pouring their hearts and souls into making it magnificent and magical and memorable for him and for us who are left behind.”
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
