Recently, Victoria Mary Clarke gave an interview to The Guardian shortly after the death of her husband, Shane MacGowan. Describing Shane’s funeral as full of fun and love, Victoria didn’t like it so much when crowds of people sang Shane’s songs in the streets. She stated:
“I’ve never been to one like it. Usually they’re downbeat. But there was so much joy, so much exuberance, and the love was so extreme that it kind of swamped any of the other stuff.”
She remarked on Shane’s love for getting high and jokingly said that ascending to meet Jesus would have been the ultimate high for him. She continued:
“Shane loved getting high when he was alive. And I think the ultimate high for him would have been to ascend, and meet Jesus, and really get off on that cosmic space. That would have been the eternal buzz that he was always looking for in life. And he actually got it!”
Victoria Thought Shane’s Funeral Was Magical
Victoria Clarke received great support and love from both music fans and the Irish community following Shane MacGowan’s death. She actively uses her social media accounts and often thanks the fans for their support. In an Instagram post after Shane’s funeral, she again thanked the support she received and described how magical the funeral was with so many people in attendance. She shared:
“I love that so many of you are celebrating his music and his life and his warmth and compassion and grace and beauty and it is a powerful thing to witness. There’s a lot of people that I want to individually thank for making his funeral so special and magical and I will probably be doing it for a long time!!!!”
The funeral, attended by crowds of people and stars such as Johnny Depp and Nick Cave, took place on 8th December 2023.
Victoria Clarke Finds It Hard To Feel Sad For Shane
Clarke met MacGowan when she was just 16. They began dating four years later, and they married in 2018, 11 years after their engagement. Having spent most of her life with Shane, Victoria is having a hard time coping with her grief. During an appearance on Radio 4’s Woman Hour on December 15, she reflected on her life with MacGowan for nearly 40 years. Clarke described it as ‘like a soap opera with the sound on,’ and added that there was never a dull moment with him. She stated:
“It’s very hard to feel sad about it, even though I do sometimes burst into tears for my own loss, I can’t feel sad for him because I really feel like he’s in a very blissful state.”
Victoria, who still feels Shane by her side, thinks that there is still a strong bond between them. She continued:
“Shane is very much with me, I don’t feel he’s gone. When I look at his picture, I feel him smiling at me. And I actually feel a real smile, a real genuine connection. I feel his love and that connection very strongly.”
You can watch the footage from Shane MacGowan’s funeral taken by The Telegraph below.
