Shane MacGowan's widow, Victoria Mary Clarke, has said she finds it 'very hard to feel sad' about his death, as she believes he is in a 'very blissful state'. The Pogues frontman died of pneumonia in Dublin on November 30 at the age of 65, following a long period of ill health.
Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour on December 15, Clarke admitted she felt 'a little shaky and dazed' after the funeral. 'When you have a funeral, there's a lot to do, there's a lot of adrenaline because you've got so many things to plan and organise,' she told host Anita Rani.
Clarke added that she feels her husband is still 'very much with me'. '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. 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.'
The Requiem Mass for MacGowan took place on December 8 in Nenagh, Tipperary, attended by hundreds of mourners and featuring a performance of the band's hit 'Fairytale of New York'. The service included a candid eulogy from Clarke discussing MacGowan's drug use and other personal matters, which drew criticism from a Catholic priest who called it 'completely inappropriate'.
In a social media post following the funeral, Clarke thanked supporters and reiterated that she feels connected to MacGowan. 'Shane is still very much with me in every moment and I feel very connected with him and I feel enormous love and encouragement from him,' she wrote.
