Father of Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has passed away after short illness

Maurice MacGowan, father of Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, has passed away following a short illness.

MacGowan died on Monday at University Hospital Limerick; he was 96.

Originally from Ranelagh, Dublin, he also lived in Silvermines and Nenagh in Tipperary. MacGowan was predeceased by his wife Therese and son Shane, frontman of the Pogues, who died in November 2023.

In a social media post, daughter Siobhan said she was "heartbroken" to say her father has passed away, "two months shy of 97 years old."

"He was passionate about literature and poetry and shared the literary greats with Shane as a child," she began.

"Books that would inspire his son in his own writing. He had a collection of Irish records that we would play as a family on Saturday nights, Shane and I as children signing along with Dad, a Dub himself, to the Dubliners."

She continued to describe his "massive principles." He became a vegetarian in his 60s, "in 1990s Tipperary which wasn't common at the time!!

"He advocated animal rights, was an active contributor to Amnesty International, writing letters to far flung governments about the treatment of their citizens."

A funeral service for him will be held at the Shannon Crematorium in Clare on Saturday.

Mourners are invited to make donations, if desired, to St Vincent De Paul in lieu of flowers.