Nenagh raises a parting glass
With a big send off for one of its most famous sons, the town gathered to say its last goodbye to Shane MacGowan
ON a rainy night in Nenagh they came in their droves to send Shane MacGowan off in style.
The town looked resplendent as the Christmas lights shone across the Tipperary sky while hundreds packed out the church and the streets to say a final goodbye to one of Nenagh’s most famous sons.
Pogues songs blasted from a Tannoy system as MacGowan’s music reverberated through the town which had imbued in him his iconic sense of Irish self.
On Friday, large crowds turned out to pay their respects as the legendary songwriter’s coffin moved through Dublin.
‘It’s a celebration really, a genius was among us,’ Cavan schoolteacher Imelda Deacy observed as she kept up a brisk pace marching beside the magnificent black horses who led the procession.
Afterwards, the cortege then cut through the capital and headed to Shane’s childhood home, the heavens opening up as his hearse inched towards Nenagh.
‘It’s a celebration, a genius was among us’
The pubs shut. Punters exited, removed their caps and bowed their heads as Shane’s hearse passed through the town.
Some blessed themselves, others started singing. Children videoed the occasion on their phones.
Celebrities from the world of music including Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie and Hollywood A-lister Johnny Depp crammed into Saint Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh alongside Shane’s family, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, local friends and President Michael D Higgins.
Pirates of the Caribbean actor Depp, a close friend of MacGowan and Clarke, read the Prayer of the Faithful in honour of the musician. A record by Depp, who attended their wedding in 2018, was earlier placed as a symbol of MacGowan’s life at the altar.
Bono performed a recorded reading from Las Vegas, where U2 are currently performing a string of dates at The Sphere venue.
Musicians including Cave and Imelda May performed several of MacGowan’s songs during the service, including a rousing rendition of Fairytale of New York led by Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill.
Then the town-wide wake roared into life.
In every pub in Nenagh, there was at least one person holding court sharing their favourite Shane MacGowan story.
Philly Ryan’s pub, which Shane frequented for years and where his local friends gathered in the initial aftermath of his death to raise a pint to the punk poet, was packed to the rafters, a bedlam of drink, song and dance.
Condensation steamed the windows, forcing those inside to wipe the glass to see if their friends or taxi had arrived.
People hugged each other
– some travelling from the UK and across
Europe – many shedding tears as emotions from the proceedings and post-funeral took their toll.
For one man who travelled from Manchester and was staying in a B&B almost 20 miles from Nenagh, it was something of a personal pilgrimage to be in the town for Shane’s farewell. Barry, who was born and reared in the Salford area of the city, said: ‘My parents are Irish and I consider myself Irish as well.
‘I have this accent, but I’m Irish and I think seeing Shane [being] the same really helped me. I’ve been following them for years and went to see them in the Hacienda in 1985. It changed my life. I just wanted to be here to say goodbye to this man.’ Across the road from the pub on Silver Street, just 50 or so feet away, lay Shane’s body in repose at the undertakers, also owned by the singer’s friend and publican, Philly Ryan, ahead of his cremation yesterday. But there were few well-known faces among the crowds – most of the celebrities who attended the funeral adjourned to a private party at the Thatch Cottage, just outside the town, where sources said around 300 invited guests drank and sang into the wee hours.
Outside, men in black fitted with earpieces kept guard by each entrance, and anyone within a few feet of the property was asked to state their business.
Around a dozen or so teenagers gathered outside clasping their phones, desperately hoping to share a celebrity Instagram moment.
There were many sore heads in Nenagh yesterday as some gathered to see Shane on his way to his final journey, the crematorium.
A small group of locals emerged from the pub at 3pm to say a last farewell as his wicker coffin, still draped in a tricolour, was driven by his friend Philly Ryan to the crematorium in Shannon to be met by Shane’s waiting family.
An icon is gone, but the stories remain, and Shane MacGowan leaves a legacy that will remain for generations to come.
And the rocky road to Nenagh is paved with memories, laughter and tears.