Hundreds of mourners, including prominent figures from music, film, and politics, filled St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin on Tuesday to attend the funeral of Oscar-winning singer-songwriter and activist Glen Hansard. Hansard died at the age of 56 in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash on July 29 on the outskirts of Dublin, just hours after participating in a traditional music session at a pub.
Mourners Gather in Dublin for Glen Hansard’s Funeral
The service followed a public wake at the Irish Museum of Modern Art that drew more than 11,000 mourners. While the cathedral filled to capacity, thousands of fans and supporters queued for hours outside, watching the proceedings on big screens, with more than 40,000 tuning in via a live-stream aired on Irish television.
The Very Revd William Morton, dean of the cathedral, opened the service by stating, We have come here today to remember before God our dear brother Glen and to give thanks for his life.
Morton also noted that Hansard’s remarkable gifts took him from the streets of Dublin to audiences across the globe.
Star-Studded Musical Tributes and Performances
The funeral service was interwoven with music and personal remembrances from Hansard’s family, friends, and longtime collaborators. U2 frontman Bono led tributes by playing a voicemail from US punk rock veteran Patti Smith, who sang a lullaby for Hansard’s family and friends. Bono then recited lyrics to U2’s Beautiful Day,
joined at the microphone by bandmate The Edge.
Additional musical performances during the service featured Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Liam Ó Maonlaí, Breandáin Ó Beaglaoich, Lisa O’Neil, Joseph Doyle, Damien Dempsey, and Michael Buckley.
The congregation included a broad array of entertainers and public figures. Actors Steve Coogan and Chris O’Dowd were present alongside musicians Hozier, Imelda May, Declan O’Rourke, Paddy Casey, and Angeline Ball, who starred alongside Hansard in the 1991 musical comedy film The Commitments.
Representatives of President of Ireland Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin were also in attendance, alongside political figures including Gerry Adams and Victoria Mary Clarke.
Family Remembrances and Final Farewell
Hansard’s widow, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, delivered an emotional speech paying tribute to her late husband, thanking him for the life we shared, searching for truth and beauty side by side.
She also expressed gratitude to the police officers who came to his aid following the crash. Saaritsa noted that the couple’s 3-year-old son, Christy, was too young to attend or understand the scale of the event, but added that the bright spirit he inherited from his father is with us.
As the service concluded, pallbearers carried a wicker coffin topped with flowers out of the cathedral. Mourners inside and outside the building participated in a mass singalong to Bob Dylan’s Forever Young
as the coffin made its final departure.
A Legacy in Music, Film, and Activism
Hansard’s career spanned decades across music, cinema, and humanitarian causes. He first achieved widespread recognition as the frontman of the acclaimed rock band The Frames and for playing guitarist Outspan Foster in the 1991 film adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments.
He later gained international acclaim co-starring in the 2007 Irish musical film Once,
winning an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for Falling Slowly,
which he co-wrote with Czech musician Markéta Irglová. The pair also performed together as the rock duo The Swell Season.
Beyond his artistic achievements, Hansard was widely recognized for his activism addressing homelessness, Ireland’s housing crisis, and support for Ukraine. For many years, he led an annual Christmas Eve busk outside Dublin’s Gaiety Theatre to raise funds for a homelessness charity, an event that drew high-profile musicians over the years.
