Fairytale of New York tribute to Shane MacGowan on day of funeral by Cookstown pupils takes internet by surprise with almost 1 million views

The piece, was released the same day as singer Shane MacGowan’s funeral on December 8.

Teacher, Gerard McStocker, who helped coordinate the piece said its popularity was helped when their tribute was shared on Twitter by Shane MacGowan’s wife Victoria Mary Clarke.

"We cannot believe how popular it has been ourselves,” he said.

"There is a group of exceptionally talented students here at the minute and this was the brainchild of the fiddle player you see in the video, Patrick Bell.

"We were going to put out a range of songs at Christmas, but then Shane MacGowan died and Fairytale of New York speeded up”.

Mr McStocker said the track features the outstanding musical talents of some of the school's finest young musicians, including Killian Armour on the banjo, Patrick Bell on the fiddle (and chief sound engineer), Deirbhile Canavan on the whistle, Ryan Coney on guitar, Joe Donaghy on bass guitar, Shayne Ferrity on Mandolin and Banjo, Cahir McKeown on piano, Chloe Hawker on guitar, Conal Moore on drums, and Ryan Neeson and Jessica Dascaula on vocals.

He added: “Every Friday in the school at lunchtime, we have a 'Feel Good Friday', a music session where the pupils and staff get together to showcase and record a wide variety of music and song!”

“The students had the Fairytale already recorded in Garage band but they needed a video for it.

"Mrs Mairead Conway, a teacher in Holy Trinity College whose husband owns the Belfast House, arranged for us to film the video there. It couldn't have turned out better, all recorded in about an hour.”

Last week, during his funeral, mourners heard that Shane MacGowan “lit a fire that burns in Ireland and across the world”.

Hollywood star Johnny Depp and U2 frontman Bono were among those who participated in the service for The Pogues singer, who died at the age of 65.

Also in attendance at Saint Mary of the Rosary Church in Nenagh were Nick Cave, actor Aidan Gillen, former Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams and Irish president Michael D Higgins.

There was dancing inside the church as Fairytale Of New York was performed by Glen Hansard and Lisa O’Neill.

Earlier, mourners lined the streets of Dublin to say an emotional goodbye to MacGowan at a public procession through the Irish capital.

Hundreds also gathered outside the Co Tipperary church on Friday afternoon as a host of stars arrived for the funeral.

Giving a eulogy to her brother, Shane’s sister Siobhan MacGowan said, while they were born in Kent, her brother’s “veins ran deep with Irish blood”, and he found his spiritual home in Co Tipperary, their mother’s childhood home.