Bono, Eddie Vedder and Markéta Irglová pay tribute to Glen Hansard at his funeral

Glen Hansard, the Irish singer and guitarist who passed away on July 29 following a motorcycle accident outside Dublin, was honored on Tuesday at a funeral service in the Irish capital. He was 56 years old. The ceremony drew an impressive gathering of fellow musicians, each paying tribute in their own way to a man known for his warm and magnetic personality.

Bono, the frontman of U2, opened his tribute with words about Hansard's remarkable gift for making everyone feel like his closest friend. "How do you do that? People on the green outside, best friends. People tuning in, best friends. Even people who haven't met him, best friends. Everyone who met him, they just remember the day they met him," Bono said. He then played a voicemail he had received from Patti Smith on the day of Hansard's passing. Bono described Smith as "another one of his best friends" and explained that her immediate response to the news had been to record a lullaby for Hansard's family and friends, which she wanted to share.

Bono then delivered a personal tribute in which he wove the lyrics of the U2 song Beautiful Day into a reworked tribute in Hansard's memory. Toward the end of this spoken version, his bandmate The Edge joined him on stage, making it a joint farewell from two thirds of U2.

Another highlight of the service was a performance of The Song of Good Hope, delivered by Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder alongside Markéta Irglová and members of The Frames, the band with which Hansard built his career. Vedder and Hansard shared a close friendship and creative partnership spanning more than fifteen years. Hansard frequently opened for Vedder, contributed to his second solo album Ukulele Songs in 2011 and to the soundtrack of the film Flag Day in 2021, and was also part of The Earthlings, Vedder's regular touring band in 2022. Vedder's daughter Olivia described Hansard as "an uncle, collaborator, friend, bonus dad, and favorite singer."

Irglová, for her part, shared a special history with Hansard as his partner in The Swell Season and as his co star in the 2007 film Once. Their song Falling Slowly earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Song. The fact that so many major names from the international music world traveled to Dublin to say goodbye in person speaks volumes about the extraordinary place Glen Hansard held in the lives of all who knew him.