Victoria Mary Clarke, the widow of Shane MacGowan, has shared an emotional tribute to her partner ahead of his funeral today (December 8).
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, ahead of his funeral in Ireland later today, his widow has shared a moving tribute to her late partner, reminiscing on their “precious” 35 years together.
“Tomorrow is Shane’s funeral which is hard to believe and probably I won’t believe it for a while,” she began the post last night (December 7), 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.”
“I am feeling my heart bursting open in all directions with the amount of love that is being showered on us and most especially because everyone has their own problems and challenges and everyone has their own loved ones who they need to look after,” she added.
“I feel that Shane is with me all the time and that he is feeling intense appreciation and gratitude and that he is still sending love to everyone and maybe in a more powerful way from where he is now.”
Elsewhere in the post, she recalled what it was like to have such a close relationship with the singer, and offered some words of advice to “anyone who is in a relationship with someone who has problems with addiction or anxiety or depression”.
“To anyone who is in fear of losing someone, just know that millions of angels are watching you and supporting you,” she concluded. “And if you don’t want to come to the funeral Shane would definitely understand, he wouldn’t want to go either!”
MacGowan’s funeral mass will take place today in Tipperary following a procession in Dublin this morning.
As reported by BBC, the procession will take place between 11am and 11:45am GMT around the south inner city, close to where MacGowan lived in Ballsbridge. It will involve a horse-drawn carriage, led by the Artane Band and a piper.
The procession is set to begin at the junction of South Lotts Road and Ringsend Road and will end at the top of Westland Row near Sweeney’s Pharmacy. Following this, the hearse and family cars will leave for Nenagh, and the funeral mass will be held at St Mary of the Rosary Church in the afternoon.
Another procession will be held afterwards through County Tipperary town, where fans can pay their final respects, and MacGowan will then be cremated in a private ceremony.
Irish President Michael D Higgins is expected to attend, as well as close friends and famous faces across the entertainment industry who were close to MacGowan. These are predicted to include Bono, Johnny Depp and Nick Cave.
Following news of his death, Nick Cave paid tribute to his close friend by describing MacGowan as “the greatest songwriter of his generation”, while Bono performed a cover of The Pogues’ ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’ at Las Vegas’ Sphere with his band U2.
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