Shane MacGowan Left Behind $12,000 Dollars for Funeral Bar Tab

16 December 2023

Shane McGowan was known to enjoy an adult beverage or two — or ten. As mourners celebrated his life, the POGUES frontman made sure the drinks kept on flowing, as he left behind more than $12,000 to pay for the bar tab at his wake.

The Independent reports that following MacGowan’s funeral on December 8th, friends and family gathered at the singer’s favorite local pub, the Thatched Cottage in Nenagh. There, they enjoyed drinks courtesy of MacGowan.

“One of infamously hard-boozing MacGowan’s former drinking partners” told The Independent that MacGowan handed over €10,000 (or $12,500) to be used for the bar tab, saying it was, “Shane’s last request.”

Johnny Depp, Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie, and MacGowan’s former bandmates were among those who attended the wake. Also present was Glen Hansard, who delivered a rousing performance of “Fairytale of New York” at MacGowan’s funeral.

MacGowan died on Thursday, November 30th at the age of 65 from what was later revealed to be complications from pneumonia and viral encephalitis.