Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam and U2’s Bono Honor Irish Musician Glen Hansard with Emotional Funeral Performances
By Website Content Manager
Friends, loved ones, and fellow musicians gathered in Dublin to pay their final respects to Oscar-winning singer-songwriter and actor Glen Hansard, honoring his life and legacy following his passing.
A number of prominent musicians and public figures gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin on Aug. 4 to honor the life of acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter and actor Glen Hansard. Among those attending the funeral were Bono and The Edge of U2, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Hozier, Damien Dempsey, Imelda May, and actor Steve Coogan.
Hansard, who was 56, died on July 29 following a motorcycle accident in Lucan, near his hometown of Dublin. Throughout his career, he was widely recognized as the lead vocalist of The Frames, one half of the folk duo The Swell Season, and a guitarist with Eddie Vedder’s touring band, The Earthlings.
Hansard first gained international recognition for portraying guitarist Outspan Foster in the 1991 film The Commitments. In 2008, he and his Swell Season bandmate and Once co-star Markéta Irglová won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly,” which was featured in the film Once.
Following news of his death, tributes poured in from notable figures around the world, including former U.S. President Barack Obama, Bruce Springsteen, Elvis Costello, Bob Geldof, and members of U2, all recognizing Hansard’s influence as both a musician and a person.
During the funeral service, Bono shared a voicemail message from Patti Smith with those in attendance before reciting the lyrics to U2’s 2000 song “Beautiful Day.” Reflecting on Hansard’s character, Bono said the musician had a remarkable ability to make everyone he encountered feel valued, adding that those who knew him never forgot the moment they first met him.
Later in the ceremony, Eddie Vedder joined Markéta Irglová and members of The Frames to perform Hansard’s song “The Song of Good Hope,” originally released on his 2012 solo album Rhythm and Repose.
Vedder’s friendship with Hansard began under difficult circumstances. In 2010, after a concertgoer died by suicide during a Swell Season performance in California, Vedder reached out to offer support. Having experienced the devastating Roskilde Festival tragedy in 2000, where nine people lost their lives during Pearl Jam’s set, he understood the emotional impact such a tragedy could have on an artist and wanted to help Hansard through the experience.