Shane MacGowan’s gruelling battle with illness – from losing every tooth and ‘bones turning to dust’
SHANE MacGowan has sadly died at the age of 65 after an eight-year health battle.
The , whose Christmas anthem Fairytale of New York has sold millions of copies, passed away at 3am this morning.
Shane's wife Victoria shared a heartbreaking statement announcing the star's death.
She shared a throwback black and white snap of her beloved husband and shared her shock at the loss of "the love of my life".
Victoria paid a touching tribute to Shane, who was "the start and end of everything that I hold dear".
She said: "I don’t know how to say this so I am just going to say it.
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"Shane who will always be the light that I hold before me and the measure of my dreams and the love of my life and 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 to be with Jesus and Mary and his beautiful mother Therese.
"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 and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures."
She added: "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.
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"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."
Shane is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and father Maurice.
In recent years, the legend had been aided by Victoria and a carer at their Dublin home.
He had required extensive care such as getting out of bed throughout his .
The iconic Pogues singer, whose Fairytale of New York became a Christmas anthem and sold millions of copies, became as famous for his partying lifestyle and he was for his legendary singing and songwriting in his 1980s heyday.
His wild ways eventually led to the loss of his teeth in 2008 and wife Victoria previously opened up about her late husband's alcohol and drug abuse in the 1990s.
But despite his lifestyle, Shane regularly said he was “glad to be alive” and “grateful to wake up”, said wife Victoria.
Seven years after Shane lost the last of his remaining teeth, he had 28 glowing dentures on a titanium frame fitted and a gold tooth.
The Tipperary rocker's mobility was then dramatically reduced after a 2015 fall, which left him with a broken pelvis.
At the time, Shane told Vice that he “fell the wrong way”, which left him “lame in one leg” and unable to walk without a crutch.
The singer was forced to use a wheelchair in the years that followed and last year, his injuries worsened after he fell and broke his knee shortly after tearing a ligament.
He previously told the Irish Sun: “All the people who used to say that I had a death wish and that I wouldn’t see 30 — where are they now? If I had a death wish, I’d be dead.”
In February 2021, the singer became bed bound again after falling in his home and breaking his knee.
He said at the time: “You find out your bones are turned to dust”.
Shane was discharged after a stint at St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin last week for viral encephalitis.
He was diagnosed with the rare condition, which causes the brain to swell, last year.
Victoria posted an update on Wednesday, November 22 about his health.
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She tweeted an image of MacGowan appearing to be in good spirits in a hospital bed.
