The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has died “peacefully” at the age of 65, with his wife and family by his side, a statement from his family said.

The Irish singer died at 3am on Thursday after being discharged last week from St Vincent’s Hospital in Dublin, where he had been receiving care for an infection.

He had revealed he was diagnosed with encephalitis last year in a video posted to social media on New Year’s Eve.

Best known for hit festive song Fairytale Of New York, he had been due to celebrate his 66th birthday on Christmas Day.

A statement posted on behalf of his wife, Victoria Mary Clarke, his sister, Siobhan, and father, Maurice, on The Pogues’ official Instagram account said: “It is with the deepest sorrow and heaviest of hearts that we announce the passing of Shane MacGowan.

“Shane died peacefully at 3am this morning (30 November, 2023) with his wife Victoria and family by his side.

“Prayers and the last rites were read which gave comfort to his family.

“He is survived by his wife Victoria, his sister Siobhan and his father Maurice, family and a large circle of friends.”

It added that further details will be announced shortly and asked for privacy for the family.

MacGowan’s wife praised him as the “love of my life and the most beautiful soul and beautiful angel” in a tribute to the Irish star.

Alongside a photo of him from his younger years, she added in a post on Instagram: “I am blessed beyond words to have met him and to have loved him and to have been so endlessly and unconditionally loved by him and to have had so many years of life and love and joy and fun and laughter and so many adventures.

“There’s no way to describe the loss that I am feeling and the longing for just one more of his smiles that lit up my world.

“Thank you thank you thank you thank you for your presence in this world you made it so very bright and you gave so much joy to so many people with your heart and soul and your music.

“You will live in my heart forever. Rave on in the garden all wet with rain that you loved so much. You meant the world to me.”

The couple married in a small ceremony in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2018 in front of guests including Hollywood star Johnny Depp.

MacGowan’s bandmate, Spider Stacy, was among famous faces to pay tribute following news of his death.

He posted a black and white photo of the singer performing on stage to X, formerly Twitter, writing: “O Captain! My Captain! Our fearful trip is done..”

Irish President Michael D Higgins said there was “particular poignancy” that the death of MacGowan had followed so soon after that of Sinead O’Connor.

He said: “Born on Christmas Day, there was perhaps some form of destiny which led Shane to writing Fairytale Of New York, the timeless quality of which will surely mean that it will be listened to every Christmas for the next century or more.

“Likewise songs like Rainy Night In Soho, A Pair Of Brown Eyes, If I Should Fall From Grace With God, and so many others will live on far into the years and decades to come.

“I think too of Haunted, and the particular poignancy that both Shane and Sinead O’Connor have left us in such quick succession.”

Mr Higgins added that it had been a “great honour” for him to present the singer with a lifetime achievement award at the National Concert Hall in January 2018 to mark MacGowan’s 60th birthday.

Ireland’s deputy premier, Micheal Martin, said he was “devastated” at the news, hailing MacGowan as an “iconic musician talented in many genres”.

“His passing is particularly poignant at this time of year as we listen to Fairytale Of New York – a song that resonates with all of us”, he added.

MacGowan was born in 1957 in Pembury, Kent, to mother Therese, who was a Feis Ceoil singer, and father Maurice.

He had used a wheelchair since 2015 after injuring himself in a fall.

Encephalitis is an uncommon but serious condition in which the brain becomes inflamed, according to the NHS website.