Siobhan MacGowan (born in 1963) is the author of two novels, ''The Trial of Lotta Rae'' (May 2022) and ''The Graces'' (June 2023). Living in Ireland, she has also worked in journalism and the music business. She is the sister of the late

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (25 December 195730 November 2023) was a British-born Irish singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He won acclaim for his lyrics, whic ...

, lead singer of the Irish group

The Pogues The Pogues are an English Celtic punk band founded in King's Cross, London, in 1982, by Shane MacGowan, Spider Stacy and Jem Finer. Originally named Pogue Mahone—an anglicisation of the Irish language, Irish phrase :wikt:póg mo thóin, ''p� ...

The Pogues

When The Pogues started out as "Pogue Mahone" in the early 1980s, Siobhan MacGowan designed posters and flyers to advertise their gigs. She also worked for The Pogues in 1988, editing and writing their fanzine, 'Ordnahone'.

Music

In 1988, MacGowan moved to

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, Ireland and formed a band called The Frantic. The Frantic performed MacGowan's songs around such venues as The Rock Garden, The Baggot Inn and the Olympia Theatre. She also supported

Hazel O'Connor Hazel Thereasa O'Connor (born 16 May 1954) is a British singer-songwriter and actress. She became famous in the early 1980s with hit singles " Eighth Day", " D-Days" and " Will You?" She also starred in the 1980 film '' Breaking Glass''. Caree ...

('' Breaking Glass'') on an Irish tour and Mary Coughlan at the Mean Fiddler in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. In 1992, her video, ''Chariot'', was shown on MTV on Christmas Day. In 1997, she recorded her album, ''Chariot'', for Murgatroid Records, Limerick, which was released in Ireland and the UK in April 1998. She performed at the

Point Theatre The Point Theatre (sometimes referred to as the Point Depot or simply as the Point) was a concert and events venue in Dublin, Ireland, that operated from 1988 to 2007, visited by in excess of 2 million people. It was located on the North Wall ...

in Dublin with

The Dubliners The Dubliners () were an Folk music of Ireland, Irish folk band founded in Dublin in 1962 as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group, named after its founding member; they subsequently renamed themselves The Dubliners. The line-up saw many changes in pers ...

and Shane MacGowan on Christmas, 1998. She worked as

Van Morrison Sir George Ivan "Van" Morrison (born 31 August 1945) is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician whose recording career started in the 1960s. Morrison's albums have performed well in the UK and Ireland, with more than 40 reaching the UK ...

's personal assistant from 1992-1994, travelling the United States and Europe with him. In 2002, MacGowan released a second edition of the album ''Chariot'', containing a bonus track: 10. I love him with a Grace

Journalism, press and copywriting

MacGowan worked at the ''Kent & Sussex Courier'' (

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

) as a copywriter for their advertising pages. She freelanced for various London and Kent based advertising agencies, writing articles for ''Smash Hits'', ''Record Mirror'', and ''FSM Monthly''. She has worked as a freelance journalist, writing for ''

The Irish Times ''The Irish Times'' is an Irish daily broadsheet newspaper and online digital publication. It was launched on 29 March 1859. The editor is Ruadhán Mac Cormaic. It is published every day except Sundays. ''The Irish Times'' is Ireland's leading n ...

'', ''The Sunday Times'' and ''Mizz Magazine''. In 1994, she moved to

County Tipperary County Tipperary () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. The county is named after the town of Tipperary (tow ...

(Ireland) and worked for the Tipperary NR Council Arts Office. She has also undertaken art commissions, Celtic/funky art, under the name of "Cat MacZebedee". Her story for children, ''Etain's Dream'', was serialised in the 'Nenagh Guardian'. Her debut novel, ''The Trial of Lotta Rae'', was published by Welbeck in May 2022. Her second novel, ''The Graces'', was published in June 2023.

Other work

She has acted in

Patrick Bergin Patrick Connolly Bergin (born 4 February 1951) is an Irish actor and singer. In 1991, he starred opposite Julia Roberts in '' Sleeping with the Enemy'' and played the title character in ''Robin Hood''. His other roles include terrorist Kevin O' ...

Yeats William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th-century literature. He was a driving force behind the ...

trilogy, ''Countess Kathleen''.

External links

Official website

Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macgowan, Siobhan 1963 births Living people English children's writers English women singers English journalists 21st-century British novelists English people of Irish descent Writers from Brighton Musicians from Brighton The Irish Times people