Shane MacGowan‘s widow Victoria Mary Clarke has shared her gratitude to Johnny Depp following her husband’s funeral.
Depp was among several well-known friends who attended the Pogues frontman’s funeral last week following the singer’s death from pneumonia, aged 65.
During the ceremony, the Pirates Of The Caribbean actor stood for a reading, where he called MacGowan “maestro”.
“We pray for a deeper spirit and compassion in the world,” he said. “May we feel the pain of others, understand their need and reach out to all who suffer in any way with a continuous love that is rooted in faith and peace.”
When you lose a loved one you need to be able to focus on the blessings and I want to thank #johnnydepp for being a tower of strength and for supporting me and @ShaneMacGowan in so many ways with such respect and compassion and loyalty ❤️ photo @ginadeuters pic.twitter.com/uIyuGiASOL
— @victoriamary (@Victoriamary) December 10, 2023
Clarke has now shared a post on X (formerly Twitter) with a picture of herself and Depp, calling the actor a “tower of strength”.
“When you lose a loved one you need to be able to focus on the blessings and I want to thank #johnnydepp for being a tower of strength and for supporting me and @ShaneMacGowan in so many ways with such respect and compassion and loyalty,” she wrote.
The funeral took place in Co Tipperary, Ireland, and included a performance from Nick Cave, who played the 1986 Pogues song ‘A Rainy Night in Soho’, while Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill performed a version of MacGowan’s 1987 Christmas hit ‘Fairytale of New York’, backed by members of The Pogues as members of MacGowan’s family danced.
Johnny Depp delivers a brief reading at Shane MacGowan’s funeral 🇮🇪 pic.twitter.com/FborlAwTme
— Johnny Depp’s Warrior (@johndeppwarrior) December 8, 2023
Irish singers Mundy and Camille O’Sullivan performed a version of ‘Haunted’, a duet recorded by MacGowan and Sinead O’Connor in 1995, while members of The Pogues also performed ‘The Parting Glass’, and Pogues bassist Cait O’Riordan and musician John Francis Flynn covered ‘I’m a Man You Don’t Meet Every Day’.
Also delivering readings at the service were Sinn Fein politician Gerry Adams and actor Aiden Gillen.
Earlier in the day, fans lined the streets of Dublin ahead of the funeral, with a procession that involved a horse-drawn carriage.