Shane MacGowan’s ashes are to be scattered on the River Shannon over the weekend, according to reports.
The funeral of the late singer takes place this morning in Nenagh, Co Tipperary, following a procession in Dublin which begins at 11am, travelling by horse-drawn carriage from South Lotts Road, through Pearse Street, to Westland Row.
Actor Johnny Depp, singer Nick Cave, and President Michael D Higgins are to be in attendance.
The Pogues singer’s ashes are to be scattered along the River Shannon, so Shane can come “full circle” and return to the “sea and the land” near his Tipperary home.
It was chosen in order to reflect on one of MacGowan’s most famous tracks, ‘The Broad Majestic Shannon’.
This is a song which recalls the men’s “hearts in Tipperary wherever they go”, which includes the lyrics, “Take my hand and dry your tears, babe Take my hand, forget your fears, babe There’s no pain, there’s no more sorrow They’re all gone, gone in the years, babe”.
“never be anything like him again”
Father Peter Gilbert who is chief celebrant at the funeral of Shane MacGowan, said that the Nenagh community have been left “grief-stricken” following the singer’s death.
He also added that there will “never be anything like him again”.
“Anybody that knew Shane personally, and there are many people throughout the town and parish that knew him and were very friendly with him, they are grief stricken”, said the priest.
“Then there are people who knew him just by reputation and there is a sense of loss because he was a character and he was somebody that communicated a bit of what we all have in us but don’t get the opportunity to communicate”.
“From that alone I think everybody will miss him, miss his humour, miss the character, miss his devilment but most of all we’ll miss his story, his song and the way he sang it and the way he said it because there’ll never be anything like him again”.
“I think it was Bruce Springsteen said, when all their music will be forgotten, Shane’s will never be forgotten”.
“spiritual side”
Ahead of today’s service, Fr Gilbert said that it is important to celebrate the life and faith of Shane MacGowan.
“Today we will celebrate the life of Shane MacGowan, and Victoria and the family stressed the importance of celebrating mass because there was another side to Shane MacGowan, there was the spiritual side, a man who had his devotion to our Blessed Lady and a man who received Holy Communion from our church, St Mary of the Rosary, regularly”, Fr Gilbert stated.
He continued, “It’s a side of him that’s not known but it’s a side of him we must celebrate. It’s a side that was important to him in the context of his living of his life”.
“We will have the rite of reception, we’ll have mass and we’ll have the rite of final accommodation interspersed with pieces of his music which will be performed by some of his friends”.
“I think that’s the right thing to do, that’s the way to celebrate the man, the faith, the music and the lyric. It’s the way to celebrate and remember the husband, the brother, the son and the brother-in-law”.
Ahead of the funeral, Shane MacGowan’s family also released a statement. See here.
