Victoria Mary Clarke, the Pogues' frontman's widow has issued an appeal for information on Shane MacGowan's treasured rifle from the 1916 Easter Rising which went missing on May 1. She says the antique had "most likely been stolen".
Shane MacGowan (65), the frontman of The Pogues and famous for songs such as 'Fairytale of New York" and "Rainy Night in Soho" passed away in November 2023 having been diagnosed with encephalitis. On Wednesday, May 1, Victoria Mary Clare, his widow, took to X, formerly Twitter, with the news that MacGowan's 1916 Easter Rising Lee-Enfield rifle, which was of huge sentimental value, had been "stolen".
Clarke wrote "Shane’s 1916 rifle has gone missing, most likely been stolen. It was a birthday gift to @ShaneMacGowan from a dear musician friend and it was used in the GPO so it was historically significant. It was a Lienfield 303 and it has H Munn etched on it.[sic]"
The General Post Office (GPO), on O'Connell Street, in Dublin, was the headquarters of the Irish Volunteers when an Irish Republic was declared before the group surrendered to British forces. The old guns regularly sell for between €2,000 to €3,000 but given the significance of this weapon, its value would potentially be much higher.
She added "If anyone happens to see a rifle from 1916 with H Munn etched on the handle it belonged to @ShaneMacGowan and it was a gift from @glenhansard and it would be great to get it back! Thank you everyone for sharing."
Supporters online shared their sympathies. One posted “That’s evil, who does something like that, I hope you get it again. Good luck”.
Others hoped the item had been misplaced or lost, rather than stolen.
“I hope Shane’s rifle turns up,” said one fan. “If someone has taken it, that’s disgusting. Maybe it’s been misplaced, I know a rifle isn’t small, but could someone have moved it?”
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