Pogues Leader Shane MacGowan’s Cause of Death Revealed

Pogues lead singer Shane MacGowan died of complications from pneumonia, his wife Victoria Mary Clarke revealed to the New York Times. The musician was 65 at the time of his death.

A funeral service for McGowan is set for Friday. The service will be open to the public and reportedly features a procession that will travel to Dublin from the town of Nenagh in MacGowan’s home county of Tipperary in Ireland. According to RTE, the funeral will be held at St. Mary of the Rosary Church and led by JJ Ryan’s Undertakers.

Irish President Michael Higgins is expected to make an appearance at the funeral, as well as U2’s Bono, surviving members of the Pogues, and other Irish musicians. MacGowan’s body will later be returned to Tipperary to be cremated, the Irish Independent reported.

Bono, the Edge, Imelda May, Jim Sheridan, Gobby Gillespie, and more are among the people said to have visited MacGowan in the months leading up to his death.

MacGowan was diagnosed with viral encephalitis last year and entered a Dublin hospital in November to get treatment for an infection. RTE reported that the musician was discharged from the hospital on Nov. 22 and returned home, where he later died on Nov. 30 while in the company of Clarke and other family members.

“Me and my sister held his hands and the priest was saying the prayers, and he actually died during the prayers,” Clarke told RTE in a recent interview, adding that MacGowan was having difficulties breathing. “He wasn’t ready to give up. He wasn’t ready to stop fighting. But his body did it for him. His body just was like, we can’t do this anymore.”