Shane MacGowan

Stories about the Irish singer, songwriter and Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan - 1957-2023

Nick Cave: BBC’s censoring ‘destroys’ Fairytale of New York

The singer says the Pogues and Kirsty MacColl Christmas duet is ‘under attack’

Tue Dec 01 2020 - 09:47

Ken Early: Grealish walks the walk as Kenny’s wait drags on

England’s former Ireland underage midfielder makes his presence felt

By Ken EarlyFri Nov 13 2020 - 07:30

Mary Coughlan: ‘32 times I ended up in hospital with alcohol poisoning’

Through addiction, infidelity and other life struggles, music was her constant escape

By Patrick FreyneSat Aug 29 2020 - 06:00

Late Late Show review: Does anyone really want a slick Shane MacGowan tribute?

Singer comes across as deeply humbled in this Late Late Toy Show for grown-ups

By Ed PowerSat Dec 14 2019 - 14:10

There’s a kind of homesickness only emigrants understand at Christmas

Jennifer O’Connell: Our line was ‘it’s only a day, after all’, to be repeated over and over

By Jennifer O'ConnellSat Dec 14 2019 - 06:00

Gig of the Week: Féile ’19 at Semple Stadium

Horslips, Sinéad O’Connor, and hot tubs await punters making the Trip to Tipp

By Tony Clayton-LeaSat Sept 14 2019 - 05:00

Sinéad O’Connor: ‘I have been a Muslim all my life and I didn’t realise it’

The singer has described her experience of ‘reverting’ to Islam

By Mark HilliardSat Sept 07 2019 - 15:49

Kevin Thornton curates festival food area for Féile

Small, artisan food vendors to showcase Irish produce at Semple Stadium

By Lynn RuskThu Sept 05 2019 - 15:18

Odds and (bookmakers’) ends: Frank McNally on horses, war heroes, and the vagaries of fortune

An Irish Diary on on horses, war heroes, and the vagaries of fortune

By Frank McNallyThu Feb 14 2019 - 18:15

Christmas conversation killers: Brexit, snowflakes, ‘Fairytale of New York’

Ten subjects to avoid at the 2018 dinner table – unless you fancy a row

By Jennifer O'ConnellSat Dec 22 2018 - 06:00

‘I flew to Chicago to buy Mrs Claus’: The families lighting up Christmas

These Dubliners are raising festive spirits and funds with their elaborately lit homes

By Jennifer O'ConnellSat Dec 22 2018 - 06:00

‘As Shane MacGowan almost said: Would everyone please calm down?’

A recent statement from MacGowan addressed the annual controversy concerning that gay slur in that Christmas song with great reasonableness

By Donald ClarkeFri Dec 14 2018 - 05:00

Fairytale ending: Shane MacGowan explains ‘faggot’ reference in Christmas song

Singer addresses controversy over reference in Pogues Christmas song

By Conor PopeFri Dec 07 2018 - 11:40

Should we censor ‘homophobic’ Fairytale of New York and ‘rape anthem’ Baby It's Cold Outside?

Some hear a song about sexual coercion and say it’s inappropriate in the #MeToo era

By Brian BoydWed Dec 05 2018 - 12:23

Striking the right chord at Christmas

Just like chocolates, over-indulgence in festive songs can leave you bloated and queasy. Don’t do it – play these classics when the time is right and you’ll be rockin’ around the Christmas tree in no time

By Jennifer GannonTue Nov 27 2018 - 00:00

Shane MacGowan marries his long-term partner in Copenhagen

Pogues singer and Victoria Mary Clarke tie the knot having been together for 32 years

By Ronan McGreevyMon Nov 26 2018 - 22:51

Lisa O’Neill: Heard a Long Gone Song review – This is as beautiful as it gets

By Tony Clayton-LeaThu Oct 18 2018 - 09:00

Nick Cave at the Abbey: A funny, strange and beautiful evening

The audience asks the questions in this raw, intimate and revealing show

By Patrick FreyneWed Jun 06 2018 - 10:00

Franz Ferdinand are a band reborn

Alex Kapranos talks about a new album, scoffing fish n’ chips in Galway, and why he wrote a song about the NHS

By Éamon SweeneyWed Feb 07 2018 - 07:00

WB Yeats ‘showed Ireland wasn’t just about the Famine’

DVD of Bob Geldof’s documentary on poet has been released

By Ronan McGreevyTue Feb 06 2018 - 13:25

Damien Dempsey: ‘I see myself as a druid on the edge’

He has a busy year ahead, with a just-announced summer show at the Iveagh Gardens

By Patrick FreyneMon Feb 05 2018 - 05:00

Shane MacGowan’s birthday party leaves brown eyes streaming

If a bomb went off at the National Concert Hall gig that would have been it for the Irish music scene

By Patrick FreyneTue Jan 16 2018 - 08:07

Stars turn out for Shane MacGowan’s tribute gala concert

Bono, Johnny Depp among those feting Pogues singer, who turned 60 on Christmas Day

By Ronan McGreevyMon Jan 15 2018 - 21:22

The best rock and pop gigs this week

Rusangano Family headline First Fortnight Big Gig, The Kooks are back in town and two celebrations: Shane McGowan’s 60th birthday and the life and music of David Bowie

By Tony Clayton-LeaSat Jan 13 2018 - 05:00

‘Mrs Brown’s Boys’ tops Christmas television ratings

Almost 700,000 watched the special on RTÉ One, adding to its 6.8m audience on BBC One

By Laura SlatteryWed Dec 27 2017 - 16:20

Happy 60th birthday, Shane MacGowan

An appetite for excess has often distracted from the rare talent and songwriting brilliance of The Pogues frontman

By Joe BreenMon Dec 25 2017 - 05:00

Miriam O’Callaghan has her work cut out with Shane MacGowan

His reticence is revealing in O’Callaghan’s most entertaining interview in a long time

By Mick HeaneySat Dec 16 2017 - 05:00

Just one single, and the buzz is already building about Whenyoung

And you have to hear Mango and Mathman, and Sufjan Stevens

By Niall ByrneSat Dec 16 2017 - 05:00

Tidings of Discomfort and Joy – An Irishman’s Diary about miserable-but-uplifting Christmas songs

‘The Pogues’ Fairytale is now 30 years old. And on Christmas Day, the son of Tipperary who wrote it will be twice that age’

By Frank McNallySat Dec 16 2017 - 00:01

Animated version of McCourt’s Angela and Shane MacGowan on RTÉ’s Christmas menu

An animated Frank McCourt story, a Fairytale of New York doc and Mrs Brown

By Deirdre FalveyWed Dec 06 2017 - 14:49

Shane MacGowan's 60th birthday concert: Johnny Depp, Nick Cave and more

Tickets for the January National Concert Hall gig, which features a stellar line-up, go on sale this Friday

By Laurence MackinWed Dec 06 2017 - 10:00

Fogarty channels the spirit of Shane MacGowan

Shuffle: The week’s best clips, singles, downloads and audiostreams

By Eoin ButlerFri Jul 21 2017 - 07:12

Dublin Boyz n the Hood and gruesome gangland consequence

‘Cardboard Gangsters’ is a ’hood film, not a gangster film, says director Mark O’Connor

By Tara BradyMon Jun 05 2017 - 06:00

Frank Murray was ‘a hugely proud Irishman full of culture’

‘I can’t grasp how someone so full of love and such massive zest for life can be gone’

By Patsy McGarryTue Jan 03 2017 - 17:45

‘It means a lot’: Shane MacGowan thanks public for condolences

Singer’s partner takes to Twitter to acknowledge ‘kind words’ after mother’s death

By Tim O'BrienTue Jan 03 2017 - 08:16

Man who got MacGowan to write ‘Fairytale of New York’ has died

Frank Murray managed The Pogues, Thin Lizzy, The Frames, Elton John and The Specials

By Brian BoydFri Dec 23 2016 - 13:00

Rebel yell: how the Irish dominated British rock music

From The Beatles to The Pogues, Oasis and The Smiths, musicians of Irish descent played a key role in UK scene, writes Johnny Rogan

By Johnny RoganFri Nov 25 2016 - 10:00

The night Jeff Buckley played Trinity Ball, after watching the Late Late

RTÉ to broadcast documentary of singer performing his first gig outside the US

By Steve CumminsFri Nov 11 2016 - 05:00

Katie Taylor departs Olympic Games amid shock and disbelief

Keith Duggan reports from Rio - defending champion and coaches felt she had done enough

By Keith DugganMon Aug 15 2016 - 19:54

Going Out: The best of what’s on this weekend

A round-up of the best nights out across the country, inicluding gigs by Little Green Cars, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Mmoths and more

Fri Mar 18 2016 - 12:28

Born on December 25th, and upstaged by ‘that twerp in the crib’

When your birthday falls on Christmas Day, you may be shortchanged on presents or denied a party, and you definitely won’t be the centre of attention

By Kevin CourtneyFri Dec 25 2015 - 05:45

Flying home for Christmas singing Fairytale of New York

Ma spoke about a lovely new song and how she thought of me every time she heard it. Little did we know that for the next 20 Christmases she would be listening to the Pogues while preparing for my annual visit

By Frances BrownerWed Dec 23 2015 - 11:17

How to write a Christmas hit and get rich (fingers crossed)

Can just anyone write a Christmas hit and essentially ‘win the lottery’ by coining it on royalties every December? Patrick Freyne and Anna Carey certainly hope so. Here's the story of their entry in the Christmas FM song contest

By Patrick FreyneSat Dec 12 2015 - 19:00

Shane MacGowan hospitalised with a broken pelvis

Pogues singer (57) injured after he reportedly fell ‘doing a complicated dance move’

By Emer SugrueSat Aug 29 2015 - 12:07

Frank McNally’s Irish Christmas

Irish Christmas traditions include mispronouncing feast days, thinking the NYPD has a choir, and eating some of the most boring biscuits ever made

By Frank McNallyWed Dec 24 2014 - 01:00

A Year of Living Mindfully: Give yourself a sanity clause this Christmas

By Tony BatesTue Dec 03 2013 - 01:00

‘Grand finale’ send-off for Pogues guitarist Philip Chevron

‘Faithful Departed’ and ‘Thousands are Sailing’ mark soundtrack to his final depature

By Ronan McGreevySat Oct 12 2013 - 18:22

Funeral Mass celebrates ‘the beauty of Seamus Heaney...in his being’

He had many of the qualities of an ‘identikit portrait of the ideal Christian’

By Patsy McGarryTue Sept 03 2013 - 01:00

A wishing tree, clever leather and the sea: Simone Rocha's hooks to home

Fashion designer Simone Rocha creates a collage of her Irish childhood with local characters, long-gone shops and the sea

By Simone RochaSat Aug 31 2013 - 01:00

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