IN MANY WAYS being born on Christmas Day is probably a bit of a raw deal.

Everybody you knows gets to bundle your Christmas present and birthday present in together and there isn’t anything you can do about it.

Well, if it’s any consolation you’re in good company.

Here are a few other people celebrating their birthdays today.

Shane MacGowan

British Summertime Festival - London Laura Lean / PA Wire Frontman of legendary band The Pogues Laura Lean / PA Wire / PA Wire

The lead singer of The Pogues was born on Christmas Day in 1957. Thirty years later Fairytale of New York would go on to reach number two in the British charts and cement its place as arguably the best Christmas song ever written.

Sir Isaac Newton

GodfreyKneller-IsaacNewton-1689 (1) Sir Isaac Newton

Sir Isaac Newton – Acky to his mates – is a man best remembered for a story about an apple falling onto his head. You really had to be there.

Besides that the British physician and mathematician also did a pretty good line in scientific breakthroughs, with his laws of motion still a cornerstone of physics today.

Dido

One Big Sunday Dido 3 PA Archive / Press Association Images The singer during her 2001 heyday PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The easy listening singer was massively successful back in the early 2000s, selling 22 million copies of her first two albums.

Dido has something of an unusual connection to Ireland. Her great aunt was Hilda O’Malley, the subject of Patrick Kavanagh’s iconic poem Raglan Road.

Justin Trudeau

Britain Canada AP / Press Association Images AP / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

Canada’s new rock star PM has been making waves after his party barnstormed its way to victory in the country’s November general election.

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The progressive politician has come out in favour of the legalisation of cannabis and identifies as a feminist, making his cabinet 50% women.

Noel Hogan

Fender Noel Hogan of The Cranberries Fender

Another domestic one this time.

Noel Hogan, guitarist and co-songwriter with The Cranberries, was born on Christmas
Day 1971. The musician continues to be involved in the local music scene in Limerick and with a number of side projects.

Honourable mentions:

Annie Lennox, Humphrey Bogart, Helena Christensen, Karl Rove and Armin Van Buuren are also all celebrating their birthdays today.

Do you celebrate your birthday on Friday? Get in touch. We’d love to hear from you at news@thejournal.ie