Shane MacGowan returns home from hospital during battle with brain condition as his wife shares touching new photo

23 November 2023, 09:03

The Pogues star Shane MacGowan has returned home after being released from hospital as he battles a brain condition.

His wife Victoria Mary Clarke, shared a new photo of the singer beaming in his hospital bed.

She posted online: "Shane got out of the hospital! We are deeply and eternally grateful to all of the doctors and nurses and staff at St Vincent’s it’s the best ! And special thanks to Tom Creagh and Brian Corscadden for your help."

The singer, 65, has been diagnosed with viral encephalitis and has been in and out of hospital for months.

The condition, which leads to swelling of the brain, can potentially be life-threatening.

The news comes days after the singer had a visit in hospital from Imelda May.

Shane has been in intensive care for months and was in and out of hospital before being readmitted in June.

His wife revealed on Sunday that he had reunited with Imelda May in hospital.

She shared a picture of the pair, captioning it: "Shane is so happy to see ⁦@ImeldaOfficial !!!"

May replied to the post saying: "My darlin’ Shane! So good to see you today. Best kisser."

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It comes after MacGowan's wife previously said: "Love is the most beautiful and powerful thing that we can experience as humans but love can also feel painful especially if you are afraid of losing a person or anything else that you love.

"The really really big challenge that we all face is to go beyond what our minds think are the limits of love and what love really is.

"A lot of the time that thing we call love can more accurately be described as attachment or desire or need or longing or closeness or connection.

"And all of these are totally valuable and human and we need to acknowledge and appreciate and accept every part of our experience.”

She said she is hopeful that he will be allowed to go home for Christmas.

During MacGowan's time in hospital, he has had several A-list visitors, including musicians Daniel O'Donnell and Bobby Gillespie.

He is the frontman of The Pogues, known for their iconic Christmas hit Fairytale of New York.