The 87-year-old woman was sadly killed after her Toyota Avensis car struck a wall yesterday at 3pm, at Ballintoher, County Tipperary.
Gardai are now investigating if she possibly suffered a heart attack moments before the car crash, according to one newspaper report this morning.
One of Mrs MacGowan’s neighbours said last night: “It’s such a tragedy given the time of year. She was a lady and it’s going to be tough for the family.”
Mrs MacGowan was originally from Tipperary, but lived in the UK with her Dublin-born husband, Maurice for a number of years before they eventually moved back to her hometown of Silvermines when Shane was still a child.
Mrs MacGowan once said, “We tried to keep Shane as much as possible in Ireland when he was young.”
In an interview for the book,‘Shane MacGowan: London Irish Punk Life and Music', she spoke about how Shane grew up in a musical household.
"Every weekend, sometimes even in the middle of the week, we'd have music... dancing on the old kitchen floor. And so Shane absorbed all that wonderful traditional culture at a formative age.”
In a 2001 documentary entitled ‘If I Should Fall From Grace', Shane affectionately recalled how his love of music was instilled in him by his parents. "I came from a musical family, and we always sang and most people played an instrument. My mother won loads of medals and cups for singing, dancing and singing in Irish as well.”
Gardaí are appealing for anyone with information about the car accident to contact Nenagh Garda station on 067-50450, or the Garda Confidential Line 1800 666 111.