Large gathering shows up in Nenagh for Shane MacGowan book launch

Shane MacGowan: Songsmith, the new photographic collection by Photographer Pádraig Ó Flannabhra, was launched last Friday evening 10 September 2024 at Nenagh Arts Centre, by Shane’s sister Siobhán MacGowan.
This book is the photographer’s tribute to the legendary frontman, singer and composer of the Celtic Punk-rock group, The Pogues.
The collection for the most part features imagery from The Pogues one and only concert held at Kennedy’s Lounge on Monday night 6 January, Little Christmas, Nollaig na mBan in 1986, which saw the group perform to young and old, many of them his own nearby relations and friends.
It is the first time that most of the photographs taken by the photographer have been published in both colour and black and white.
Speaking at the launch in Nenagh Arts Centre, Siobhán MacGowan said: “It’s great to see so many of you here tonight for the launch of Padraig’s very special book about my brother, SONGSMITH. One of the many things I think that makes it special is not only does it visually capture a time, but captures that time also through story and song; the memories of the people that were there, and the reflections of family and friends.
“This personal reflection and more intimate portrait was possible because the book is centred around Shane’s times in and around our family’s hometown of Nenagh, and Padraig, being part of our landscape, was luckily on hand to record the local mischief. That Nenagh stars in its pages is something that would greatly please Shane, as not only did he love the town but believed it should be the capital of Ireland if not the world!
“The book’s journey begins, nearly 40 years ago, in Kennedy’s of Puckane at Little Christmas, 6th January 1986, in a gig that has entered folklore, yet, until now, hardly any photos of it have been seen. In the early ‘80s, Kennedy’s of Puckane was a hotbed of Irish talent and a mecca for touring musicians. I know, because many a summer evening would find me queuing for a ticket, if I had not been sensible enough to buy one from James in the shop in the days before. Shane had also found himself in this position over the years, but, on that January night in 1986, he and his band, The Pogues, were going to take the stage.
“By then, the Pogues were definitely on the rise. They’d released their second album, Rum Sodomy and the Lash, five months before and were supporting its producer, Elvis Costello on a UK tour. Their own headlining St Patrick’s day gigs in London were becoming legendary and they’d sold out the SFX in Dublin the September just gone; but, still, not all the great and good of traditional Irish music were convinced. To put it mildly, they were a little dubious of the Pogues’ unique and raucous style.
“Shane might have been used to large audiences, but this one was different because this was a home crowd. This involved playing in front of Dad and Mum – always praying for him whenever he performed - our Uncle Sean and Aunty Vickie, and Cahill and Lynch cousins, as well as friends and neighbours who had known him since childhood. Any artist will tell you that’s the toughest gig. The real test.
“Spider Stacy, the band’s tin whistle player, writes the foreword to the book, admitting that his memories of nearly 40 years ago are hazy, but he does recall our Uncle Sean taking the stage to sing, Shane looking proudly on, and a dispute of some sort between a friend of the band, a Corkman, and some of our cousins (who may be here tonight). He says the exact nature of this falling out is lost to the mists of time but he suspects that unburied rivalries, probably of the sporting kind, were at play.
“I have my own hazy memories of that night. I recall the room like a smoky furnace, steamy hot crowds surrounding the stage, singing and dancing, others sitting in heaving groups at tables spilling over with drinks, one or more of the Kennedys rushing with trays to supply more. Elvis Costello was in a corner trying and failing, in the mayhem, to look cool, many of the crowd jumping on and off the stage, and, just as Spider remembers, our own Uncle Sean and cousin Carmel joining Shane to sing. It was the unleashing of an unholy hooley.
“It was probably one of the last gigs where the Pogues could enjoy such intimacy.”
The book can now be purchased online on the website: www.buythebook.ie