Shane MacGowan's widow Victoria Mary Clarke thanks Johnny Depp for being a 'tower of strength'

Shane MacGowan's widow Victoria Mary Clarke has thanked Johnny Depp for being a "tower of strength" and said Shane had been blessed with many devoted friends.

"There’s no way to know how you are going to cope with loss and bereavement but you can train yourself to focus on the blessings that you have experienced and on the love  that you have been gifted with," Victoria Mary said.

She added that you can also train yourself to focus on the support and friendship and the energy of appreciation and celebration of your loved one.

"Naturally you will feel overwhelmed with all of the pain and loss but if you stay present and allow and accept everything that is happening you will also feel grace and gratitude and joy for everything that you have had," she said.

"People who are loyal and devoted friends will show up for you and they can give you tremendous strength if you let them. In our lives me and Shane have been blessed with a great many devoted friends who have helped us in all kinds of ways when we were struggling or we needed a bit of moral support" she said. 

She described Johnny Depp as "one of the most gracious of angels and I know that Shane really appreciated the way that he was always so completely respectful and accepting of every aspect of his being even at times when a lot of people were dismissing him as being a hopeless addict and past his prime".

"Seeing the adoration that Johnny felt for Shane was a great source of encouragement and strength during some really tough times and I am eternally grateful to him for never seeing Shane as anything less than perfect and brilliant and beautiful. Thank you Johnny Depp for being a tower of strength for me during these last few days and bless you from the bottom of my heart," Victoria Mark Clarke said. 

The Pirates of the Caribbean star produced a documentary on Shane MacGowan - 'Crock of Gold'. In it Shane slags off Depp and asks him "what makes you think I was able to stay awake during Pirates [of the Caribbean]". 

To much laughter from Victoria Mary Clarke and Johnny Depp he says of the actor: "You haven't changed, cause you are a sugar cube, baby. You're male candy. You're so cute you make me sick". 

Shane MacGowan's funeral took place in Nenagh last week and was attended by President Michael D Higgins and a host of famous musicians including Nick Cave, Imelda May, Mundy, Glen Hansard and Shane's band mates from the Pogues.