Shane MacGowan's wife felt 'suicidal' after his death

Shane MacGowan’s widow, Irish artist and writer Victoria Mary Clarke, has spoken of the intense grief she experienced after The Pogues frontman’s death aged 65 last year.

- ROISIN O'CONNOR

Speaking to The Independent, Clarke revealed she had received support from a number of the late musician’s friends, including Australian musician Nick Cave, in navigating her sense of loss.

McGowan died almost a year ago on 30 November, less than a month before what would have been his 66th birthday, on Christmas Day. “There were obviously enormous amounts of desolation and despair,” Clarke, who has been hosting a new exhibition in Dublin, said. “There were quite a few days where I thought that I definitely wanted to kill myself – I wanted to get out of here and go and be with him.”

The Irish writer called the Samaritans helpline several times, while also receiving support from friends and family: “I don’t think there’s a quick or easy way past [the grief],” she said. “You just have to let yourself feel it. So there was a lot of howling and crying and feeling shit – the symptoms are very physical, like a pain in your ribs – and you don’t want to get out of bed.”