Tears and applause as band plays Fairytale of New York and people recall memories of pubs, squats, youth, dreams and loss
They followed the horse-drawn carriage singing songs that were written as raucous ballads. But on this day, the crowds of mourners sung softly, their voices floating into a grey Dublin day in farewell to Shane MacGowan.
The Pogues singer was dead but for mourners his lyrics seldom felt so alive as his funeral cortege wound through the heart of Ireland’s capital on Friday.
There were tears and applause as the near 50-member marching band paused along the route to play Fairytale of New York and other hits that, for some, recalled memories of pubs and clubs, squats and bedsits, youth, dreams and loss.
A funeral service was to take place later in Nenagh, County Tipperary, the home of his mother’s family, followed on Saturday by cremation and a scattering of ashes into the river that inspired MacGowan’s The Broad Majestic Shannon, about an exile’s yearning for home.
“It’s important to say goodbye to a huge legend. We’ll still be listening to these songs a hundred years from now,” said Sean O’Donnell, holding a tricolour flag, as thousands gathered.
“He was one of the greatest Irishmen,” said Dermot Doran, 55. “He embodied the soul and spirit of this country.
