The mother of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan has died in a car crash in the Republic of Ireland.

Therese MacGowan, 87, was killed when the car she was driving struck a wall in Ballintogher on New Year’s Day, police said.

MacGowan, the car’s sole occupant, was pronounced dead at the scene near her home in Silvermines at about 3pm, they added.

A spokesman for An Garda Síochána, Ireland’s national police force, said the crash was being treated as an accident. “It would appear to be a single car collision with a wall,” he said.

MacGowan’s body has been taken to Limerick University hospital, where a postmortem will be carried out on Monday.

She had two children, Shane and Siobhán, with her husband Maurice. The couple met in Dublin and moved to England, and Shane was born in Kent in 1957. They later returned home to Tipperary, where Shane spent much of his childhood.

Shane, 59, was the lead singer of Irish punk band The Pogues. The group is known for hits such as Fairytale of New York and A Pair of Brown Eyes.

It has been reported that the singer has recently suffered poor health. Last year he was rushed to hospital after he broke his pelvis during a live performance.

