Shane MacGowan naming campaign in Germany

The campaign for honouring the legacy of Shane MacGowan has even extended as far as Germany!

Further evidence of the far-reaching influence of the legendary singer-songwriter - who regarded north Tipperary as his home - can be seen in the call of Eckhard Hülshoff, a member of the local council in Witten. He recently contacted the Nenagh Guardian to say that his party is calling for a square or street in his home city of around 100,000 inhabitants to be named after Shane MacGowan.

Herr Hülshoff said he has been a fan of MacGowan since 1985, when he was 13. “I had the chance to meet him a couple of times,” the German councillor told us.

“I know the saying - ‘never meet your Idols!’ But in the case of Shane, it was great to meet him. He was so friendly, humble, gentle and interested. A brilliant artist; a great soul.”

Herr Hülshoff is a member of Die Partei – “a party that started as a satirical party”.

“We have decided to demand that a square or street shall be named after the man himself and the campaign just started.”

Locally, there have been suggestions for an annual festival in honour of MacGowan in the Nenagh area, or for a monument or structure to be named after him.