The widow of late singer Shane MacGowan has issued an appeal after a gun belonging to the tragic star was “probably stolen”.
Victoria Mary Clarke, who was at his side when he died last November, said it was a “historically significant” rifle which had been used in the 1916 Easter Rising.
London-born punk Shane’s parents were both from Ireland and he considered himself an ardent Irish republican.
His upset wife posted a photo of The Pogues frontman posing with the X-shaped gun and revealed that the device had disappeared.
She wrote: ‘Shane’s 1916 rifle is missing, probably stolen. It was a birthday gift to @ShaneMacGowan from a dear musician friend and was used at the GPO, so it was historically significant.
Shane MacGowan’s widow Victoria Mary Clarke has issued an appeal following the disappearance of her beloved 1916 rifle.
Victoria Mary Clarke, who was at his side when he died last November, said it was a “historically significant” rifle which had been used in the 1916 Easter Rising.
“It was a Lienfield (sic) 303 and it had H Munn stamped on it.”
The brand is actually called Lee-Enfield; A similar rifle was sold eight years ago at an auction in Dublin to mark the centenary of the shooting with a winning bid of €2,000.
During the Easter Rising, the GPO (General Post Office) was the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers who took it and proclaimed the Republic of Ireland, holding out for a week before surrendering to British forces.
The bloody battle killed 485 people, more than half of them innocent civilians, and parts of Dublin were left in ruins: 82 Irish rebels were among the dead and 16 of the Rising’s leaders were later executed.
Shane died on November 30 last year at the age of 65 at his home in Dublin following a stay in hospital after being diagnosed with encephalitis.
The Hellraiser had well-documented problems with drugs and alcohol and had been unwell for some time.
His funeral in his adopted city was broadcast on television and dancing was seen in the church as his life was celebrated and big stars such as Johnny Depp, Bono and Nick Cave led tributes.
Shane was born in London to Irish parents and was an ardent republican who will go to his grave believing in a united Ireland.
His upset wife posted a photo of The Pogues frontman posing with the X-shaped gun and revealed that the device had disappeared.
Shane died on November 30 last year at the age of 65 at his home in Dublin following a stay in hospital after being diagnosed with encephalitis.
The musician died ‘peacefully’ with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke and his family at his side (pictured in 2012)
Author Richard Balls spent hours interviewing him for his authorized biography A Furious Devotion and said that The Troubles “preoccupied his mind since childhood.”
He said The Pogues singer considered Gerry Adams a friend and that the former Sinn Fein president sent him letters often over the years.
In his recent book, Balls said: “Sit with Shane for a while and the conversation will turn to Northern Ireland.”
‘For most of his life he has been fascinated and distressed by his bitter struggles and it is a subject that can trigger outbursts of anger that have become part of his personality.
This is safe ground for him. He knows Irish history inside and out and is a staunch republican who counts himself as a close friend of former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams.
Shane’s father, Maurice, was from Dublin, while his mother, Therese, was from Co Tipperary, and he made regular summer trips to the family home there, The Commons, during his childhood.
Richard Balls said it was those visits across the Irish Sea that reinforced the singer’s republican beliefs as he learned more about his Irish roots.
He said: ‘It was during his holiday at The Commons that Shane heard about how his ancestors had fought for ‘the cause’ and that a whole division of black and tans were killed and buried near the cottage.
“Dan Breen gave him a copy of My Fight for Irish Freedom, which was “very violent and very graphic.”
‘Breen was involved in the ambush and murder of two RIC police officers, an act considered to have started the War of Independence, and fought in the IRA’s 3rd Tipperary Brigade.
‘He became the first republican to enter the Free State Parliament and represented Tipperary for over thirty years.
‘As Shane grew up and his ‘furious devotion’ to Ireland deepened, it gave him the identity he never had growing up in England.
‘When he found fame with The Pogues, his family’s Republican credentials became a cornerstone of his backstory.
“Although neither The Pogues nor The Popes were overtly political, Shane has made his own contributions to the rebel songbook.”
During those interviews for his 2021 book, the latest written about Shane’s life, Balls discovered that Shane had a strong will to live despite his health battles.
Shane told him: ‘I don’t want to die yet. I don’t want to die at all.
Author Richard Balls spent hours interviewing Shane for his authorized biography A Furious Devotion and said that The Troubles “preoccupied his mind since childhood.”
“But the idea that other people wasted a lot of their lives blowing up other people who wasted their lives and the fact is there’s no reparation.”
“They have to offer reparation to the hundreds of people and their friends and family on both sides of the divide, which is a completely fucked up divide.”
One of his songs, Paddy Public Enemy No. 1, was inspired by republican paramilitary Dominic ‘Mad Dog’ McGlinchey, who was a senior figure in the INLA after being expelled from the IRA and later shot dead.
Balls added: “The release of that album came just two months after the start of peace talks in Northern Ireland that would culminate in the Good Friday Agreement.
‘In interviews promoting it, Shane did not shy away from expressing his Republican views. He said: “I think it should happen now: the English should come out.” We’ve talked enough, they should let the Irish run their own country. I have always said that the British have no right to be there. I believe in a republic, a socialist republic.’
“That summer, Shane had met Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams at the Féile an Phobail, the West Belfast Festival… Shane said he thought there had been ‘mutual respect’ between them.”