The Sick Bed of MacGowan: How the Pogues Changed Modern Ireland

<p>Shane MacGowan changed Irish music by changing what Irishness was allowed to sound like.</p><p>From the traditional songs of his childhood in Tipperary to the collision of Irish folk and punk that created The Pogues, Shane MacGowan spent his life challenging the boundaries of Irish culture.</p><p>He was accused of corrupting Irish music. Instead, he helped redefine it.</p><p>The Pogues gave voice and dignity to an Irish diaspora living between countries, while Shane’s own understanding of Irish identity was never confined by borders. Decades later, a new generation of Irish artists from Lankum and The Mary Wallopers to Madra Salach and Fontaines D.C. are taking that same restless relationship with tradition in entirely different directions.</p><p><br></p><p>The Sickbed of MacGowan is an exploration of Shane MacGowan, The Pogues, Irish music, Irish identity and the musicians continuing to tear open the boundaries of what Irish culture can be.</p><p><br></p>