Imelda May pays tribute to Irish 'giants' Shane MacGowan and Sinead O'Connor

08 December 2023 , 16:51

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Imelda shared a moving tribute

Imelda May has paid tribute to the late Sinead O'Connor on her birthday, which falls on the same date as the funeral of Shane MacGowan.

The Irish musician took to Instagram on Friday to post an emotional message to the Nothing Compares 2 U singer, who died aged 56 in July after a long struggle with mental illness. Sinead's tragic death was followed by the passing of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan on 30 November, who had also suffered from poor health for several years after a successful entertainment career.

"Happy Birthday Sinead," Imelda captioned a photo of her with the late folk singer and Shane's partner, Victoria Mary Clarke, on Instagram. "We send Shane off to join you today. What a day for Ireland. How blessed we were to have had such giants in our midst."

Imelda May has paid a heartfelt tribute to Shane MacGowan (Victoriamary/Twitter)

The star also paid tribute to the late Sinead O'Connor (Instagram/imeldaofficial)

Imelda signed off the poignant post with a touching, "All my love to Sineads and Shane’s families today," before finishing with the Irish for 'Big Love': "Grá Mór." The powerful message comes a week after Imelda thanked Shane for his "glorious talents" in a poetic tribute, noting that his "genius songwriting and poetry weaved of words and wisdom that made mortals feel seen, heard and moved from Stoney stoicism to quiet tears."

Shane died aged 65 after being discharged from a hospital in Dublin where he was receiving treatment for encephalitis, which is a condition that refers to inflammation of the brain. His funeral took place in Ireland on Friday, with the procession beginning in Dublin before making its way to Nenagh, County Tipperary, where the late singer spent much of his childhood. A number of high-profile people, including Johnny Depp and Bono, showed up to the church service to pay their respects. Nick Cave sang a Rainy Night in Soho at the ceremony, while Gerry Adams, who had visited Shane just a week before his death, delivered a prayer for the congregation. Sir Bob Geldof, Lisa O'Neill and Glen Hansard were also in attendance for the star-studded memorial service.

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Imelda had never been shy about her fondness for Shane and Sinead, both of whom are considered to be legendary musicians in Ireland and abroad. "Sinéad was a good friend of mine and she got me through some tough times. We got each other through some stuff," she said on the Pat Kenny Show in August. "“We'd FaceTime each other with a cup of tea in our dressing gowns, and whinge about what we needed to whinge about and laugh about what we needed to laugh about. I'll really miss her and I'll miss those phone calls. She's gone from being demonised to sainthood within the matter of a week and none of us are any of those things.

“We're all somewhere down the middle, but I am glad that she's getting the love. I'm glad she got to see it before she was gone, she did get to see the tide turn in her favour."

Emma Dooney