Pogues star Shane MacGowan leaves hospital in good spirits

His wife announced the good news yesterday. The Pogues frontman, 65, has been receiving care in St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin for an infection.

In an update posted on Wednesday night, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke tweeted an image of MacGowan in a hospital bed wearing a scarf and bobble hat.

MacGowan had been in intensive care for several months after first being diagnosed with viral encephalitis last year, which is said to have been exacerbated by shingles that spread to his eye.

Shane got out of the hospital! We are deeply and eternally grateful to all of the doctors and nurses and staff at St Vincent’s it’s the best ! And special thanks to Tom Creagh and Brian Corscadden for your help ⁦@ShaneMacGowan⁩ ⁦@poguesofficial⁩ pic.twitter.com/ciEhB1NcRU

— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) November 22, 2023

Victoria posted: “Shane got out of the hospital! We are deeply and eternally grateful to all of the doctors and nurses and staff at St Vincent’s it’s the best ! And special thanks to Tom Creagh and Brian Corscadden for your help.”

Fairytale of New York

Fun fact – MacGowan was born on Christmas Day.

Although known for other hits such as Dirty Old Town and Sally MacLennane, The Pogues were best known for Fairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl.

MacGowan insisted that it arose as a result of a wager made by the Pogues’ producer at the time, Elvis Costello, that the band would not be able to write a Christmas hit single.

The song has always courted controversy but remains one of the more popular festive anthems. 

On November 19, 2020, PinkNews journalist Josh Milton described the seemingly annual argument over whether or not the use of the word “f****t” was offensive as “Britain’s worst festive tradition”.

It is the most-played Christmas song of the 21st century in the UK.