Shane MacGowan’s grief-torn widow has admitted she spent a “very long time” fearing his death.
Shane MacGowan’s grief-torn widow has admitted she spent a ‘very long time’ fearing his death
Journalist Victoria Mary Clarke was by the Pogues frontman’s side when he died from pneumonia at 3am on Thursday (30.11.23) – weeks before his 66th birthday on Christmas Day and after months of battling illnesses – and she has now written a long tribute to the wildman on her Instagram page.
Alongside a picture of her and Shane dancing, she said: “Losing Shane has been the thing that I feared most for a very long time, almost since we first got together.”
She added about how she appreciates the messages of support that have flooded in after Shane’s death: “I just wanted to say that there has been so much love and support from so many people that it’s like being on the Titanic and then finding a life raft.
“It’s rough and it’s choppy and it’s freezing and scary but there is a feeling that safety is not too far away.
“Some of the messages and gestures of support have been incredibly moving and unexpected and I really really hope that Shane can see how much he is loved by so many people of all ages and kinds.”
Opening up about Shane’s character, Victoria added: “He was a very shy guy who didn’t really share his deepest self with very many people even though he was also a true humanitarian and he really loved humanity in a weirdly forgiving way, he was very reluctant to ever judge anyone and he strongly believed in forgiveness.
“He was genuinely uninterested in celebrity and he respected all people no matter if they were a taxi driver or a novelist and he would always want to find out what he could about people.
“He could be alarmingly authentic and he definitely sometimes lacked diplomacy! He never walked past a homeless person without stopping for a chat and to give them a decent wad of cash and a cigarette if they wanted one.
“He never judged anyone with addictions because he understood where they were coming from.
“He inspired me to open my heart (red heart emoji) to strangers everywhere we went and to see the beauty in the most unlikely things and people. I am doing my best to focus on all of the many things that he taught me and the blessings that he brought me.”
Signing off her message with another thank you for the messages of support she’s received, Victoria added: “Thank you (praying hands emoji) to everyone who is sharing this love (red heart emoji) and I hope that if you are facing a similar situation you will feel comfort and support and you will be able to access the grace and gratitude for what you have had together (red heart emoji.)”
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