Glen Hansard was remembered through music at his funeral on Tuesday, August 4, at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. The Irish singer-songwriter died July 29 at age 56 following a motorcycle accident.
Family, friends and fellow musicians gathered to celebrate Hansard’s life. Attendees included U2’s Bono and The Edge, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Hozier, Imelda May, Jake Clemons of the E Street Band and Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers.
Bono delivered a spoken tribute inspired by U2’s song “Beautiful Day,” accompanied by The Edge, reworking portions of the lyrics in Hansard’s honor. Bono also shared a voicemail from Patti Smith that included a lullaby recorded for Hansard’s loved ones. “Everyone who met him, they just remember the day they met him,” Bono said of Hansard.
Eddie Vedder performed Hansard’s “The Song of Good Hope,” joined by Markéta Irglová, Hansard’s collaborator from the film Once. The service concluded with a rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” featuring Bono, Vedder, The Edge, Ó Maonlaí and a choir of musicians.
Hansard rose to prominence as frontman of The Frames before earning worldwide acclaim with Irglová in The Swell Season. The pair won the Academy Award for best original song in 2008 for “Falling Slowly” from Once, which later inspired the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical. Hansard released five solo studio albums and was known for annual Christmas Eve busking performances in Dublin benefiting people experiencing homelessness.
Source: Billboard
