Former Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan is recovering after a stay in the intensive care unit of a Dublin hospital for an unspecified health issue. The news came from Shane’s wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, who told the Irish Mirror, “He is still in hospital but he is doing well and being looked after. I didn’t want to worry people. He is out of the ICU and doing well.”
MacGowan, who is 65, has been in poor health for some time. In his New Year’s Eve post on Instagram this year, he confirmed he had been in the hospital for encephalitis, and according to the Mirror has had full time care since breaking his pelvis in 2016.
At the end of June, Clarke alluded to MacGowan’s heath problems on Instagram, “There has been a lot of turbulence in my life recently and it’s been very emotional and also scary. But this past few days I have noticed that even though there’s a LOT of fear there is also a huge amount of love and support and incredible blessings. I think that our minds can be VERY resistant to change and to having our lives shaken up and rearranged and we need to be very gentle and patient with ourselves… Thank you so much 😊 to everyone who has been supporting me and @shanemacgowanofficial.” Read that full note below.
Julien Temple’s 2020 documentary Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan is a moving, funny portrait of the singer and is available to stream via Hulu. Watch the trailer below.