Pogues legend Shane MacGowan enjoys late-night get together with fellow music icon Bob Dylan
Dylan, 75, is a massive fan of the 59-year-old MacGowan and once booked the Rainy Night in Soho rockers to open for him on a North American tour in the late 1980s
POGUES icon Shane MacGowan enjoyed a latenight knees-up with fellow songwriting legend Bob Dylan following his Dublin gig at the weekend.
Dylan, 75, is a massive fan of the 59-year-old MacGowan and once booked the Rainy Night in Soho rockers to open for him on a North American tour in the late 1980s.
Bob famously hand-picked The Pogues for his tour after he was blown away by their 1988 album If I Should Fall From Grace With God.
And although the unlikely collaboration hit a bum note when Shane missed his flight and the entire tour, the mutual respect between the pair has endured.
Nobel Prize-winner Dylan thrilled his Irish fans with a two-hour set at Dublin's 3Arena on Friday night and had his management get in touch with MacGowan.
Shane's long-time friend and manager Joey Cashman joined the lads for their jolly-up in the InterContinental Dublin (formerly the Four Seasons) on Sunday after twisting MacGowan's arm into going.
Joey told the Irish Sun: "Bob was very keen to meet up with Shane when he was in Dublin and his people were on a fair bit trying to set it up. There's a lot of respect there and Dylan was the one who booked the Pogues to open for him back in the day, even though Shane didn't actually make it!
"I have a theory that Dylan didn't realise Shane never made it out to the States because the band were so good without him.
"That tour was crazy and I became good friends with Dylan's son Jesse along the way.
"Dylan had his people get in contact and Shane was reluctant because he wasn't feeling well but then he decided he wanted to go, he couldn't miss out on the chance.
"We went to the hotel and let reception know that Shane had arrived. Bob was downstairs within ten minutes.
"So we had a meal in his hotel on Sunday. It turned into a late one."
The legendary singer-songwriters stayed up into the early hours discussing their storied careers and trading anecdotes.
Cashman recalled: "Dylan asked Shane how long it had taken to write Fairytale Of New York and Shane muttered, 'Around 15 minutes'.
"Shane doesn't really like people making a fuss over his songs, a lot of musicians are like that, but they were chatting away.
"They're both very into their poetry. Dylan named himself after Dylan Thomas, which is why he spells it that way, so they were deep in conversation for ages.
"It was a fascinating evening and Shane really enjoyed it. The two lads were in top form. It was a once-in-a-lifetime kind of evening."