POPULAR Pogues hell-raiser Shane MacGowan is mad as hell at how Ireland has transformed itself, and he's not gonna take it anymore!

Shane, not known for advocating a clean and healthy lifestyle, is furious at the successful public smoking ban that the Irish government implemented several years back.

"I can't see people sticking to that forever," he told the Irish Star. 'It's f***ing ridiculous. All that does is glamorize smoking. If this government doesn't want you to do something they just ban it.

"I think they will pull the ban eventually, we're all still smoking - in fact the number of smokers has gone up. I've smoked all my life and I enjoy cigarettes, and that's that."

And don't get him started on how snobby he feels the Irish have become since the Celtic Tiger took root.

"Do you remember we used to say hello to everyone we'd meet on the street? We don't do that so much anymore and that's disappointing," Shane feels. (Maybe now that the Irish boom is well and truly over, people will start being nice again!)

The problem, he feels, is that people need to be more mindful of what Ireland has gone through during its past.

"People should never forget what's gone on in our history, the people who fought and died for this country - it's f***ing ignorance if you don't know all that," he said.