Shane MacGowan mural 'everything we could have hoped for', says singer's sister

Sean Hinchey from Killaloe, Co Clare, viewing the completed Shane MacGowan mural at the junction of Emmet Place and Mitchel Street in Nenagh, Co Tipperary. Pictures: Odhran Ducie

The sister of the late Pogue’s frontman Shane MacGowan has said a mural of her brother unveiled in his family’s home in Co Tipperary was “everything we could have hoped for”.

Hundreds turned out for the ceremony at the weekend in Nenagh where the singer's funeral took place in December.

The large painted mural of Shane holding a microphone and dressed in a green scarf and burgundy jumper was designed by Tipperary artist Neil O’Dwyer and commissioned by the local council.

It also has roses in the painting and is located on the corner wall of Emmet Place in Nenagh.

Siobhan MacGowan and Shane’s widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, along with family and friends attended the event.

Siobhan MacGowan said: “It was important to us as a family that Shane’s likeness and expression be captured.

“Neil (O’Dwyer the artist) has done this so beautifully, the mural has such a presence and strong sense of Shane, it’s everything we could have hoped for.

Artist Neil O'Dwyer, originally from Clonoulty, but now living in Cashel, working on the Shane MacGowan mural 

“We are very grateful to Neil and Tipperary County Council for this stunning tribute to our beloved Shane.” 

She says the burgundy-coloured jumper used in the mural of her brother was a “shout out” to the clothes he wore back in the early 80s.

 “He used to wear suit jackets, and trousers and burgundy v neck jumpers at the time, they were his uniform and Shane being penniless at the time, mum would buy them for him and present them to him in bundles.

“This nod to the past — the very beginning of Shane’s career and mum’s loving role in it — made me smile and gave me a warm feeling.

“It made me wonder if Neil, who had told me he dreamed of a mural at night, was receiving a message” she said.

Red rose

She also said the rose depicted in the mural “is in recognition of the Pogues first album, Red Roses for Me, but also goes deep into the meaning of that title — the album was named after the Sean O’Casey play of the same name.

She said: “In the play, a woman carries roses in mourning for her lost loved one. In life Shane loved red roses and, in his passing, we who loved him carried red roses for him on that last day and it is a symbol of undying love, his for us and ours for him.” 

 Victoria Mary Clarke said the couple spent most of their lives in London but her husband always said he was from Tippeary where his mother grew up.

 “It’s important to say, that this is not just a mural, it’s not just about Shane, but something a lot bigger" she said.

“It’s about being willing as a people to champion somebody who didn’t live a normal life and didn't live the way you’re supposed to live.

“He was a man who lived from his heart, from his soul, and he didn’t every pretend to be anybody that he wasn’t. He didn’t try to impress anyone, he wasn’t a diplomatic person he was exactly as you saw him, he was honest”.