Ireland Bids Farewell to Pogues Frontman Shane MacGowan

Thousands Line Dublin Streets for Funeral Procession, Service Attended by Notable Figures

• Thousands of people lined the streets of Dublin to bid farewell to Shane MacGowan, the London-Irish punk who transformed Irish traditional music with The Pogues.
• A marching band led his funeral procession through central Dublin on Friday as the crowd sang beloved songs like Dirty Old Town, the folk classic MacGowan and The Pogues helped make popular.
• The funeral took place in St Mary of the Rosary Church in the town of Nenagh west of Dublin, attended by notable figures including Johnny Depp, Nick Cave, and Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins.
• MacGowan, who died on November 30 aged 65, was known for his slurred speech, missing teeth and on-stage meltdowns as his drug and alcohol abuse took their toll from the 1990s on.
• His most famous song, 'Fairytale of New York', has returned to the UK Top 40 singles chart every year since 2005 but has never made it to number one.

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