The Pogues' 'Fairytale of New York' has returned to No 1 in Ireland on the day of its composer Shane MacGowan’s funeral - 36 years after it first topped the charts in Ireland.

In what is possibly one of the least Christmassy Christmas songs, the acerbic duet between MacGowan and Kirsty MacColl, was penned by MacGowan and Jem Finer and featured on the band’s 1988 album If I Should Fall From Grace With God.

Today was the day of the Pogues frontman's funeral, who passed away Monday last week. Thousands of mourners and fans gathered around Dublin to pay respects to the late singer as his funeral cortége made its journey from Dublin to Limerick.

'Fairytale of New York' has also been subject of a fan campaign in the UK to bring the track to the coveted Christmas number one spot, which the song famously never made, having been beaten to the spot by the Pet Shop Boys' 'Always on My Mind'.

This year the track is facing stiff competition in the form of Mariah Carey's Christmas Sensation 'All I Want for Christmas is You' and Wham!'s festive lament 'Last Christmas'.

However, Fairytale has reached the UK Top 20 every year during the Christmas period since 2005. And it is also a regular feature in the Irish Top 10 on its re-release at Christmas In Ireland.

MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke has said she would love to see the track finally hit the top spot in the UK, telling BBC radio 'It absolutely should be number 1'.

Also ranking highly on the Irish singles chart this week is, The Pogues’ song 'A Rainy Night In Soho' coming in at No 15, and 'A Pair Of Brown Eyes' is new in at No 41.

On the new Irish album chart, The Best of The Pogues is new at No 2, the band’s classic 1985 album Rum Sodomy & The Lash is back at No 6. Furthermore, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, first released in 1988 and which feature the Pogues most famous song 'Fairytale of New York', is at No 16. A further compilation, The Very Best Of The Pogues sits at No 26.