:quality(70):focal(4369x2235:4379x2245)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/K77QI5EFSJBLXNSNGVLKEDDCYE.jpg)
Shane MacGowan: From céilí-punk rebel to feted genius, addict to national institution
Considering that Shane MacGowan was a protean fixture in Irish life for so long, by turns hell-raising maverick, gritty romantic and idiosyncratic icon, his creative heyday was surprisingly brief.
But MacGowan, who has died aged 65, produced songs of such incandescent brilliance while frontman of the Pogues that this achievement remains the bedrock on which his reputation rests, no matter that he became arguably more famous for his hedonistic image as his career faltered.
Initially framed as an iconoclast taking a sledgehammer to the hidebound conventions of trad when he and the London-based Pogues first made their mark nearly 40 years ago, English-born MacGowan was far more respectful of the Irish folk tradition than his rambunctious persona suggested. The mythology and ballads he absorbed during childhood stays in his mother’s native Co Tipperary remained a touchstone throughout his life, whether as the wayward son of Irish immigrants in the Home Counties of southern England, the bug-eyed singer of a rising céilí-punk combo or the troubled solo performer tussling with addiction and ill-health.
Top News Stories
- Five more hospitals to provide abortions from this month: Five more hospitals will start carrying out abortions in December, more than five years after legislation providing for terminations of pregnancy was passed.
- ‘Fix my broken child’: Emily Hand’s father Tom says she is readjusting after captivity: Israeli-Irish girl Emily Hand (9), who spent 50 days as a Hamas hostage in Gaza, is slowly recovering from her ordeal, her father Tom told an Israeli television news programme on Thursday evening.
- Gardaí await Dublin-stabbing suspect interview as five-year-old girl still critical: Gardaí investigating the stabbing attack in Dublin city centre last week that left three children and a school worker injured are still waiting for medical clearance to interview the chief suspect in the case.
- Dermot Ryan, businessman who recorded Seán Lemass tapes, dies aged 95: The death has taken place of the businessman Dermot Ryan who conducted a series of interviews with former Taoiseach Seán Lemass in the 1960s.
- Check out today's Most Read stories
- Join The Irish Times WhatsApp channel for breaking news straight to your phone.
News from around the World
- Cop28 world leaders urged to agree ‘phase out’ of fossil fuels: UN secretary general António Guterres has called for world leaders gathered at the Cop28 climate talks in Dubai to agree to complete the “phase out” of fossil fuels.
- Israel-Hamas war: Ceasefire ends as Israeli military resumes offensive in Gaza: The Israeli military has resumed its offensive against Hamas in Gaza, claiming Hamas had violated the truce.
The Big Read
:quality(70):focal(2106x911:2116x921)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/K5EMSTE4LNDAHB7FN6KIWRPWHQ.jpg)
- Shane MacGowan talks to The Irish Times, 1985: ‘They call us drunk because we’re Irish, or maybe because we are’: The Pogues present the Irishman as hellraiser, the alcoholic as social critic and the artist as victim of tooth decay. From obscure origins under the tables of various north London pubs they have risen to the point where Elvis Costello is producing their third album and Alex Cox (director of Repo Man) has just made a video of their Pair of Brown Eyes single. When I met singer-songwriter Shane MacGowan and tin-whistler Spider Stacy at their recording studio last week they had returned from a tour of Germany, Finland and Scandinavia. And last Sunday they travelled to their heartland to play at Kenmare Arts Weekend.
The best from Opinion
- Stephen Collins: When so many gardaí are quitting, something is seriously wrong
- Justine McCarthy: Leo Varadkar has tacitly approved Ben Dunne’s fleecing of Irish citizens
- Diarmaid Ferriter: The far right is not strong in Ireland. It’s up to social media platforms to keep it that way
Today's Business
- Dublin’s office market is in a downturn, but just how deep will it be?: This time four years ago, the commercial property market in Ireland was perhaps as strong as it had ever been. Capital values had recovered in the years after the global financial crisis, and office rents had matched, or exceeded, the peaks of the Celtic Tiger years.
Top Sports news
- FAI to address vacant manager’s role before Christmas: Uncapped Peamount forwards named ahead of Amber Barrett described as ‘football decision’ by Eileen Gleeson
Martyn Turner
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishtimes/NSRIN7ESWVCJXACWQPB4M4ENBM.jpg)
Video & Podcast Highlights
Why not try one of our Crosswords & Puzzles?
Like this?
Get the best content direct to your inbox by signing up to one of our newsletters