A Belfast priest has criticised the way the funeral of Shane MacGown was conducted last week, labelling the ceremony as a 'scandal'.
The legendary frontman of The Pogues passed away at the age of 65 on November 30th, with his funeral taking place in Saint Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh. The procession received worldwide acclaim in the days that followed, with the mass containing some hugely emotional musical numbers in a nod to MacGowan's remarkable career.
However, some from within the Catholic church has been critical of the scenes that unfolded.
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Belfast priest criticises Shane MacGowan funeral mass
Speaking to Belfast Live, Fr Paddy McCafferty labelled the funeral mass as a 'scandal'. He particularly singled out the singing of Fairytale of New York, which has said was 'totally out of place' in a church.
It was an abuse of what mass is and what the Catholic funeral liturgy is all about.
The introduction of all these elements into that funeral mass frankly was a scandal and it shouldn’t have happened. If they wanted to have that sort of event they could have hired a hall somewhere and did all that.
He was a good man in his own way and he was entitled to a funeral mass as every baptised Catholic is. But all of that stuff should have been kept out of the mass, there is no place for that in the mass at all...
The singing of that Fairytale of New York after Holy Communion, totally out of place.
The words that are used in that song and in the church showed no understanding of the sacredness of what the place is and the holiness of the mass.
It was completely inappropriate to say the least, to the point of scandal and something needs to be done about these so-called celebrity funerals in a Catholic church. If people don’t want that then go somewhere else.
While it was unpopular with this particular priest, the funeral mass of Shane MacGowan will no doubt be remembered as a stunning tribute to an all-time great.
SEE ALSO: Top Artists Pay Stunning Musical Tributes To The Late Shane MacGowan
