Of all the secular “Christmas songs” I have always loved “Fairy Tale of New York” co – written by Shane MacGowan, the lead singer of the band The Pogues. Shane died last month and I was interested to read about his faith in an article written by Tim Bechervaise in the Premier Magazine. It is a fairly long article and so I have divided it into two parts. Next week’s blog will feature the Pogues version of “Fairytale” but this week I am going to feature two Irish buskers, 18-year-old Allie Sherlock and 13 year old Fionn Whelan. singing in the streets of Cork.

Did you know that Shane MacGowan was born on Christmas Day? I didn’t – until his death last month. How apt for a man whose band, The Pogues were responsible for ‘Fairytale of New York’, one of the all-time great festive songs.

It’s one of the many notable soundbites to emerge as tributes poured in for a man whose music and life resonated with many – as reflected in the thousands who turned out for his funeral last Friday. Another interesting fact is that, for all its popularity, ‘Fairytale of New York’ has never made it to number one – until this year maybe?

But there’s something else nestled away in the many tributes being paid to the Irish music legend, and that’s numerous references to faith – including how, prior to becoming a punk star, he once considered entering the priesthood.

So, to what extent does faith emerge in the life and work of Shane MacGowan?

“I was brought up to be a religious maniac from an early age,” MacGowan once said of his Catholic background. He gathered with his wider family to pray the rosary and his home was decorated with religious icons. He regularly attended Mass, which he described as “one of the most beautiful experiences a human being can be subjected to.”

Despite the rollercoaster ride as one of Ireland’s most famous artists – including drug and drink abuse, with Sinead O’Connor even calling the police in an attempt to get him off heroin – this upbringing never left him. Indeed, it perhaps meant more to him than is universally acknowledged.

“I always loved the stories of the lives of the saints, and I believe in the saints and always have, I pray to them every day and to Jesus and His Holy Mother,” he told The Catholic Herald.

“I don’t take it for granted that I was born on Christmas Day, Christ’s birthday, and I don’t like that people miss the point of Christmas. It’s not about Santa Claus and presents, it’s supposed to be about the teachings of Christ, who is love. Jesus forgives everyone and we need to practise forgiveness as much as we can. And Jesus teaches peace and love and tolerance, which is what we all need.”

These beliefs fed into his work, with biblical imagery a frequent feature of his song lyrics. In ‘The church of the holy spook’, the opening track of his 1994 post-Pogues solo début, The Snake, he howls: “When the sacred blood of the Holy Ghost is boiling in my veins / I think of Jesus on the cross and I scream out for his pain”. They also inspired his artwork, with one of his drawings offering a take on the Last Supper.

Quote of the Week

There is more to life than there appears to be with the five senses.

Shane MacGowen