Shane MacGowan's remains 'coming home' to Tipperary for funeral

NENAGH in County Tipperary is renowned for its rich musical heritage and is where fans from around the world and close family will say farewell to one of the titans of Irish music on Friday - Shane MacGowan.

Shane MacGowan's mother Therese came from Tipperary and his father Maurice and sister Siobhan live in the county. The decision to hold the funeral in Nenagh has been described as Shane MacGowan coming home for a celebration of his life and achievements.

Members of the public are welcome to come and share in their “great memories” of Shane McGowan whose funeral is set to take place in St Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh on this coming Friday (December 8).

Before coming to Nenagh the funeral cortege will travel through Dublin city after beginning in the Ring's End area, where he spent many years with his wife Victoria.

His funeral will be held in Nenagh on Sínead O'Connor's birthday - a fellow artist dear to him and with whom he recorded several songs and performed on stages around the world.

Local Independent Councillor Seamus Morris told RTÉ’s 'This Week' radio program on Sunday that the 65 year old legend had “lived his life to the full” and will be fondly remembered forever in the town - where he was often known to enjoy the unique atmosphere of Nenagh and its nightlife.

Fans and leading figures of the music industry from around the world are expected to flock to Nenagh on Friday, to be part of a ceremony marking the life and achievements of a man who will become part of Ireland's musical mythology.

Shane MacGowan was known to often give words of encouragement to young musicians he encountered performing in the town which produced past musical legends such as Paddy O'Brien.

"It will be a big funeral in Nenagh. It is an open funeral. It is open to everyone and we have a very big church in Nenagh. People will be very welcome", Councillor Seamie Morris said.

"We are hoping that everyone can come and share in the memories of Shane McGowan who was an absolute legend. There will be great stories told, there will be great friends of his that have met him over the years and celebrated life with him over years they will all be very welcome to Nenagh. Nenagh will be welcoming to them all," he said.

Shane MacGowan was born on 25 December 1957 in Pembury, Kent, the son of two Irish parents who were visiting relatives in England at the time of his birth. He spent his early childhood in Tipperary and his family moved to England when he was aged six and a half.

His father, Maurice, from a middle-class background in Dublin, worked in the offices of department store C&A and his mother Therese who came from the Carney Commons area, worked as a typist at a convent, having previously been a singer, traditional Irish dancer, and model

Shane moved to live in the ancestral home in later years when the family moved back to live in the village of Silvermines in the 1980s to live life in rural Ireland away from the hustle and bustle of London. In January 2017, Therese, then aged 87, tragically died in a car crash when the car she was travelling in struck a wall at Ballintoher, near Nenagh.

Shane moved back to Tipperary in his later years, to his family’s traditional 350-year-old residence at Carney Commons near Ardcroney.

Having tired of life in London, he told The Guardian in 2001 that the move home ensured he was away from London and closer to his family and parents who then lived outside the Silvermines.

“My parents were living here and I wanted to come back full time. I was sick of living in London and travelling around. I still travel around the world a fair bit, but I was basically sick of London. I never really liked the place,” Shane said. “This is the only fixed address that I have ever had – you know what I mean?”

The Carney home is the ancestral dwelling of the Lynch family, Shane’s mother’s relations, and is a remote old cottage with an open-hearth fire and ancient family parlour.

It was in this home that Shane started to write a novel based on the Blue Shirts and Eoin O’Duffy, as well as finishing songs and ballads on his Spanish guitar and piano.

Cathaoirleach of Tipperary County Council, Cllr Gerard Darcy, who lives near Shane’s ancestral home, paid his respects on behalf of the people of Tipperary when he spoke to the Irish Independent.

“His roots are not far from where I live. I live in Ardcroney, his village is the next one down in Carney. That’s where all the Cahills and the Lynches came from. All of his people came from down around that area.”

Councillor Darcy extended his sympathies to Shane’s partner, Victoria, sister Siobhán and father Maurice. “He was a very talented guy. You would see him around. He would come to Nenagh or Borrisokane, or Puckaun. He often frequented the pubs in Puckaun.”

Cllr Darcy said Tipperary County Council and Nenagh Municipal District would likely extend their official condolences at the next meetings.

“It’s a sad day. He had his demons. He loved Tipperary. He understood the country people, and that rural area around Lower Ormond in north Tipperary,” Cllr Darcy told the Independent.

Shane MacGowan had a particular soft spot for Philly Ryan's pub in Nenagh, where fans and friends of the music legend were deeply saddened by the news of his death. Philly Ryan was a close friend of Mr. MacGowan and will play a major role in his funeral through JJ Ryan Funeral Directors, who will look after the funeral arrangements.

President Michael D. Higgins is also expected to travel to Nenagh on Friday to pay his respects to Shane MacGowan. "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", the President said when he paid his respects to the singer last week.

Mr MacGowan passed away peacefully at his home in Dublin last Thursday (November 30) after spending several months receiving treatment at St Vincent's Hospital.