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LAST UPDATE | 30 Nov 2023
TRIBUTES HAVE POURED in for influential musician Shane MacGowan, who passed away today at age 65.
He is best-known for being frontman of celtic-punk band The Pogues, who had hits such as Dirty Old Town and Fairytale of New York.
Spider Stacy, a member of The Pogues, paid tribute to his old bandmate tonight, calling his passing an “enormous” loss.
Stacy told Ray Kennedy on RTÉ One’s Nine O’Clock News programme that having known Shane for “over 45 years”, he was still coming to terms with the news.
He said his songwriting showed intelligence and “empathy for people”, while capturing the “bleak” and “joyous” of London life simultaneously.
“It’s a funny thing, the way that the band started,” he recalled, “we were around a friend’s house one day and Shane started playing Poor Paddy on the Railway on acoustic guitar, banging it out in a really mad, fast, punk rock version…it was like this light bulb went off over our heads.”
‘O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done..’ pic.twitter.com/YnkreXRmYB
— Spider Stacy (@spiderstacy) November 30, 2023
In a statement today, President Michael D. Higgins described MacGowan as “one of music’s greatest lyricists”.
“So many of his songs would be perfectly crafted poems, if that would not have deprived us of the opportunity to hear him sing them,” he said.
“The genius of Shane’s contribution includes the fact that his songs capture within them, as Shane would put it, the measure of our dreams – of so many worlds, and particularly those of love, of the emigrant experience and of facing the challenges of that experience with authenticity and courage, and of living and seeing the sides of life that so many turn away from.
“His words have connected Irish people all over the globe to their culture and history, encompassing so many human emotions in the most poetic of ways.”
President Higgins also paid tribute to MacGowan’s mother folk singer Therese, who died in 2017, but “inspired in Shane the love of Irish music and traditions”.
MacGowan’s birthday, Christmas Day, Higgins said, suggests it was “some form of destiny which led Shane to writing Fairytale of New York”.
The President presented MacGowan with a lifetime achievement award in 2018 to mark MacGowan’s 60th birthday.
The CEO of the National Concert Hall Robert Read today said the award was “richly deserved”.
“His love of Irish literature, history and poetry was boundless and he channelled this into his unique talent for crafting timeless songs which capture the richness and complexity of the human experience. We will not see his like again.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar took to X to express his condolences.
“Sorry to hear that Shane McGowan has passed,” he wrote. “He was an amazing musician and artist. His songs beautifully captured the Irish experience, especially the experience of being Irish abroad.”
He lived briefly in Tipperary as a young child before the family moved back to England when he was six.
In his career, he was heavily influenced by bands like The Clash and others in the emerging British punk scene of the 1970s, as well as by his Irish heritage.
Sorry to hear that Shane McGowan has passed. He was an amazing musician and artist. His songs beautifully captured the Irish experience, especially the experience of being Irish abroad: Shane MacGowan, Fairytale of New York singer, dies aged 65https://t.co/eNmP7AySfW
— Leo Varadkar (@LeoVaradkar) November 30, 2023
Tanáiste Micheál Martin paid tribute to MacGowan in the Dáil today.
“I want to express my deepest sympathies to the wife and family of Shane MacGowan,” he said.
“An iconic musician who I think blended many different musical disciplines and genres … Ar dheis de go raibh a anam.”
Fans around the world have shared their favourite songs and memories from the frontman on social media.
Minister for the Arts Catherine Martin said he was one of the country’s greatest songwriters and performers.
“From the Pogues first gigs in Ireland at venues like the National Stadium, McGonagles and the Olympic Ballroom, his charismatic performances energised and enthralled Irish audiences.
“His ability in particular to capture the Irish emigrant experience in Britain, echoing the literary work of writers such as John Healy whose book The Grass Arena dealt with similar themes, was especially remarkable.”
The Pogues issued a statement on X, formerly Twitter, confirming their former singer died at 3am this morning with his wife and family by his side.
“Prayers and the last rites were read which gave comfort to his family,” the statement added.
“He is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and his father, Maurice, family and a large circle of friends.”
MacGowan and Victoria celebrated their wedding anniversary at the weekend.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described McGowan as a “dedicated Republican and proud Irishman”.
“Ireland has lost one of its most beloved icons and the world one of its greatest songwriters,” she said.
Ireland has lost one of its greatest and most beloved musical icons.
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) November 30, 2023
Shane MacGowan was a poet, dreamer and social justice champion. He was a republican and a proud Irish man.
Nobody told the Irish story like Shane. He sang to us of dreams and captured stories of emigration... pic.twitter.com/CAhaLJrdwu
“Shane was a poet, a dreamer and a champion of social justice,” McDonald continued.
“Nobody told the Irish story like Shane – stories of emigration, heartache, dislocation, redemption, love and joy.”
Gerry Adams also commented on the death of his “good friend” who he saw when he was released from hospital last Wednesday.
“I have been a fan of Shane for decades. He came to west Belfast on several occasions to play at Féile an Phobail.
“Ireland has lost a great patriot, a poet and friend of the downtrodden and marginalised.”
Holly Cairns, leader of the Social Democrats, also extended her party’s sympathies and noted MacGowan’s “legacy of iconic music”.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Daithí de Róiste has opened an online Book of Condolence for the citizens of Dublin to extend their sympathies to the family.
The Mansion House will also be open for people to pay their respects from 2pm to 5pm today, and Friday and Saturday between 11am and 5pm.
Additional reporting by Eoghan Dalton
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Very strange that Germany can expand a Coal Mine, but the Irish have to close their Bogs and stop cutting Turf. Where’s the equality in Europe.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: all down to good old eamo
@Owen G Mc Ginley: Turf cutting is regulated under the RAMSAR Directive, Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), EU legislation, including the Water Framework
Directive etc., the main aims of these international agreements is to preserve biodiversity, reducing CO2 emissions plays a secondary role. These lignite coal mines are not wetlands, so they avoided most regulations that govern turf cutting.
Germany reopened its lignite coal mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, that resulted in them deciding to close all their Nuclear Power Plants under pressure from the Greens. That resulted in a shortfall in energy generation as they had not built enough renewable generation to fill the gap, that gap was filled by reopening giant Lignite mines and importing more electricity from France (which ironically gets most of its energy from Nuclear).
https://www.cleanenergywire.org/factsheets/germanys-greenhouse-gas-emissions-and-climate-targets
@Owen G Mc Ginley: eamon wants to be a great green god of Europe.
@Giles Wolohan: Good old Vlad more like.
@David Jordan: David they are reopening the coal mines not because of Fukushima but the sanctions they put on Russian gas and the Nord stream pipeline being blown up.
@Owen G Mc Ginley: you do know we have plenty of our own coal mines in Ireland, that should be opened up too, if the Germanys can do it why can’t we!!!!
@Phil Keran: plenty of coal mines… :-D Name one that would be profitable to put on stream….
@Mac Dara Powell: no, this is not related to recent events. The protests have been going on since 2012, the sizes of the protests increase when a village gets demolished.
Under German law all lignite mines are due to close by 2038, that hasn’t changed. Also, the Garzweiler II mine is due to close sooner, by 2030, that hasn’t changed. Germany extended the life of its lignite mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster and closure of all its nuclear power plants.
Garzweiler II mine opened in 1980, the planned demolition of 12 villages and towns, and the eviction of 12,000 people, is part of the long term plan to expand the surface mine. The mine covers an area of 32 km2, but it’s approved to expand to over an area of 110 km2 (area of Dublin City, not county). It will mine 1.1 billion tonnes of Lignite over the next c. 7-8 years.
Should just ignore her spoilt brat
@John Moloney: stay classy John.
@John Moloney: Can you explain how she is spoilt? All ears if you have some evidence of that, not an opinion or conspiracy but actual evidence
@John Moloney: daft comment
@jason weir: Really thats your opinion in reality its true
@John Moloney: Maybe she appears that way to you because she wants to save this planet and its ecosystem to stop humans from destroying everything in the name of profit. She’s not just going to accept the status quo ‘this is just the way it is’ and I respect her for that. She could go to college, become an accountant, and be a 9 to 5 droid to our economic system for the rest of her life (the system which is destroying our planet for profit) but she’s chosen to be give up any semblance of a normal childhood and early adulthood to raise awareness. Full respect from me.
@JC O’Connachain: Greta Thunberg’s net worth in over $1 million. Do not think she is suffering from lack of food and shelter as are millions of people in third world countries who need cheap fuel for heat and survival. Greta is a perfect example of the do as I say not as I do twits of this world.
https://www.tuko.co.ke/406466-greta-thunberg-net-worth-2022-how-wealthy-teen-climate-activist.html
@Tomo: save the planet explain how she gets to every country while she saves the planet is she walking
@Don Hogan: So do you have to be especially poor before you’re allowed to protest climate breakdown? What’s the cut-off point? Can you protest a bit if you’re quite well-off, but not really rich?
@Tomo: 100% agree
@John Moloney: So your logic is:
Greta uses public transport like the rest of us = as a result she’s not allowed to criticise the system or raise awareness?
That’s like saying people who use the HSE services can’t criticise the government’s health policies. Ridiculous logic – in fact I’m not sure that’s logic at all.
100 companies are responsible for 71% of global emissions. The only meaningful change is for government intervention and regulation. Individuals doing x or y isn’t going to do anything.
@John Moloney: Ignore John, he won’t save ye. He’s the spoilt one here.
@Don Hogan: Ah Don, I’ve read the above article and if you are basing your argument on something the Sun says you are on a weak footing. They have had classy views on a wide range of things including Hillsborough
@JC O’Connachain: the staged ‘arrest’ to enhance her activist status.
Good to see the German cops doing their job, climate zealots ideology don’t care that their is a very serious temporary energy problem for Germany and Europe, only care about their own climate Religion,
@Ned: yep nazis onthe rise again cop on ya fool
@Ned: ‘Temporary energy problem’? Can you expand on that?
@Ned: This is not related to recent events, Germany reopened its Lignite surface mines after the 2011 Fukushima disaster, which provoked them to close all their nuclear reactors.
The demolition of 12 villages and towns is part of the long term plan to expand the Garzweiler surface mine. The mine covers an area of 32 km2, but it’s approved to expand to over an area of 110 km2 (area of Dublin City, not county).
View of the mine: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48734321
It will mine 1.1 billion tonnes of Lignite over the next 15 years, until 2038, after which Germany will phase out Lignite mining.
It won’t be 110 km2 at any one time, as it fills in the hole behind it as it goes and the land is put back the way as it was, but minus the 12,000 people that will be evicted from their homes (30,000 people were evicted since 1980).
@David Jordan: I think more impactful views of the mine literally eating up farmland and nearing the next villages in The Atlantic here:
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2023/01/luetzerath-protests-german-coal-mine-expands/672696/
Kind of apocalyptic looking to my eyes
@jason weir: name caller you just revealed the type of person you are, you have a lot of class all of it low.
@Claude Saulnier: no need you should know if you are paying attention to what is going on in Europe right now.
@David Jordan: fair comment but I have read somewhere that the Germans want faze out coal in the next 10 years??
@Ned: say they haven’t been paying attention, can you not explain considering you seem to know so much?
@Jen Mc: nothing to explain, with all the news and social media to tap into for all this info not my problem if some people have their head in the sand like the auld ostrich,
Why isn’t she in school
@Míleata Watch Co: think shes too old why are you not in play school
/
@John Moloney: sad post
@Míleata Watch Co: She’s 20. An adult. She can do what she wants!
@damian: John Moloney is our resident Ukraine expert. Maybe he should stick with what he knows best.
@Míleata Watch Co:
Seriously? Where have you been for the past five years? Don’t you understand yet why she is not in school? Why millions of students follow her in not being in school? Are you a recently arrived alien?
Wow, woman arrested in Germany at protest .
#freeGreta
@Séan Ó Nuanáin: she’s free so????
All I see here is a lot of grown men disliking a young adult for no reason. There’s just no way she has affected any of their lives.
@Jen Mc: It’s to do with a subconscious bias towards a young girl trying to change the world for the better. Psychologists reckon it’s a loss of control thing. There’s a mountain of science behind it. It’s fascinating. BTW, I’m a middle aged man and I think she’s doing a great job.
@Stephen Deegan: I think you’ve hit the nail on the head, Stephen. And to be fair there a few lads here supporting her. I guess I’m just also surprised by the amount here who dislike her for no apparent reason.
@Jen Mc: a sure nobody men or women dislikes her they just dislike how they zealots in the climate religion use her for their own interests.
Pity about her
Where’s the wizard of mud video?
@potnoodle: https://youtu.be/KUOir-SAKDs
That’s gas
I didnt like her before but she layed the smackdown on Andrew Tate so that put her up in my estimation.
Cue the men of a certain age:
Splashing paint on the poor coal….but seriously, it seems she’s gotta protest at anything to remain relevant.
Great photo! Everyone looks quite content.
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