Pogues Frontman Shane MacGowan Left Behind over $10K for a Bar Tab at His Funeral: 'It Was Shane's Last Request'

The late Shane MacGowan wanted to make sure his friends and family poured one out in his honor after his death. 

The funeral for the Pogues frontman, who died at age 65 in November, was held on Friday and his estate left behind €10,000 (or just over $10,000) for an open bar tab at his memorial, The Independent reports. 

According to the outlet, family and friends mourned and celebrated the life of the “Fairytale of New York” singer at one of his favorite bars, The Thatched Cottage, in Nenagh, Ireland. 

“It was Shane’s last request,” one of the Irish artist’s friends and “former drinking partners” told The Independent of how €10,000 had already been “handed over the counter for free beer.”

A handful of famous friends were said to have attended the pub, including Johnny Depp, Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream, the singer’s Pogues bandmates, fellow Irish artist Glen Hansard, as well as his wife Victoria Mary Clarke, among others. 

Several surviving members of The Pogues paid tribute to their late bandmate, who died from complications of pneumonia after being diagnosed with encephalitis in 2022, at the memorial. Spider Stacy and Cait O’Riordan were said to have performed the Celtic punk group’s song “The Body of an American.” 

Hansard, 53, also played the band’s beloved hit “Fairytale of New York,” which he also teamed up with Irish singer-songwriter Lisa O'Neill to perform at the funeral service that day.

According to The Independent, fans of MacGowan also gathered simultaneously for an unofficial memorial at the nearby Philly’s Bar, owned by the late rocker’s friend Philip “Philly” Ryan. 

Thousands reportedly gathered throughout Nenagh on Friday to watch the funeral procession and mourn the performer, per CNN. At the private service, stars like U2 frontman Bono, musician Nick Cave, former Game of Thrones actor Aiden Gillen and more paid their respects. 

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MacGowan died in the hospital surrounded by loved ones on Nov. 30. His wife confirmed his death on Instagram, sharing that he had “gone to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese." 

Along with an old black-and-white photo of the singer-songwriter, the Irish writer, 57, opened up in the caption about her loss and how her late husband had “meant the world to” her. 

“Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love ❤️ of my life,” Clarke shared.

“I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love ❤️ and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures,” she continued. “There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.”

After writing that his presence and music made the world brighter, she concluded by saying MacGowan “will live in [her] heart forever.” She added, “Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much.”