Shane MacGowan's undertaker says Johnny Depp went against orders to carry coffin
Hollywood star Johnny Depp defied orders to carry his friend Shane MacGowan's coffin, an undertaker admits.
Philly Ryan revealed he invited the actor to perform the honour of helping carry The Pogues star's coffin at St Mary of the Rosary Church, but explained this was not part of the original plan.
Photographs from the funeral show the Pirates of the Caribbean star, 60, among the other pallbearers carrying the late singer's wicker casket out of the church.
"When I saw the pride on his face as he carried Shane down the church, I knew I'd made the right decision," the Tipperary undertaker said. "Johnny deserved to carry Shane's coffin. He was his best man. He was there for the right reasons."
Philly confessed the decision for the actor to carry the coffin was initially met with resistance from security officers. "A security man rushed over and said, 'Johnny! This is not in the plan!' But Johnny told the security guy, 'No, I'm going to do this,'" he told the Irish Sun.
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Johnny Depp helped to carry his late friend's coffin (STR/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)This comes after an Irish priest furiously slammed the funeral as a "scandal" and hit out at the inclusion of The Pogues' 1988 festive classic Fairytale of New York, stating it was "totally out of place".
"The words that are used in that song and in the church showed no understanding of the sacredness of what the place is and the holiness of the mass," Father Paddy McCafferty told Belfast Live.
"It was completely inappropriate to say the least, to the point of scandal and something needs to be done about these so-called celebrity funerals in a Catholic church. We're not there to entertain, we're there to celebrate the worship of God and lead people in the worship of God. I wouldn't allow that in my church."
Shane died last month after suffering from a long illness. He had been receiving care in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for an infection.
Johnny Depp spoke at Shane MacGowan's funeral (sky news)His wife Victoria Mary Clarke paid tribute to the singer in a heartbreaking tribute. She wrote on Instagram that Shane "will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life".
She described him as "the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel and the sun and the moon and the start and end of everything that I hold dear has gone".
"I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love," she continued.
"There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world. Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your music.
"You will live in my heart forever. Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much. You meant the world to me."
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