Watch: Bono and Eddie Vedder join stars for funeral of ‘true Dub’ Glen Hansard

By Jonathan McCambridge, Gráinne Ní Aodha, Rebecca Black and Claudia Savage, Press Association

Mourners at the funeral of Oscar-winning musician Glen Hansard have heard that his remarkable gifts brought him “from the streets of Dublin to audiences across the globe”.

U2 frontman Bono, bandmate The Edge and Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder were among the stars who joined family, friends and fans for the service at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin on Tuesday.

Bono addressed the funeral and led the congregation in a singalong of the U2 song Beautiful Day.

With the cathedral full, hundreds more gathered outside to watch the proceedings on large screens which had been erected while more than 40,000 watched a livestream of the funeral.

The funeral featured multiple musical tributes as well as memories shared by family members.

Tributes poured in from around the world after Hansard, the frontman of Irish band The Frames was killed at the age of 56 in a motorcycle crash on the outskirts of Dublin last week, hours after taking part in a trad session at The Wren’s Nest pub.

Hansard’s younger brother Richard told the service said his brother had a “way of making you feel like you mattered”.

He said: “Glen made me feel like the world was a much more magical place than it was at the time.

“He sang songs, he was a storyteller, he would come in and turn the evening around. It was easy to look up and be inspired.

“I know he made ripples and made waves. He had an impact on so many, look at this room.

“Those waves began at kitchen tables in Ballymun and Killester, and it is at those tables for us he will remain. His first stage was our house and his audience was his mam, dad and brothers.

He added: “We have inherited all the magical, colourful words, hugs, talks, madness, sadness, insightful manic beauty that a brother, an uncle, a husband, and a father could ever give.

“Thank you,  Glen. Thank you, brother. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.”

Hansard’s wife Maire thanked the emergency personnel who came to her husband’s aid following last week’s accident.

She told the funeral: “I owe my deepest gratitude to all our good friends who have spared no effort to give me to guide me through this time.

“As Glen’s wife, I want to thank him for the life we shared, searching for truth and beauty side by side. We found it in our son Christie.”

She received a prolonged round of applause after reading a poem she had written for her husband.

Vedder then sang Hansard’s The Song Of Good Hope, with Irglová, alongside whom the Dublin musician had won an Oscar.

U2’s Bono and actors Steve Coogan and Chris O’Dowd are also in attendance, as well as former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams and traditional musician Finbar Furey.

Tributes poured in from around the world after Hansard, the frontman of Irish band The Frames was killed at the age of 56 in a motorcycle crash on the outskirts of Dublin last week, hours after taking part in a trad session at The Wren’s Nest pub.

Thousands of mourners attended a public wake for the musician at the Baroque Chapel at the Irish Museum of Modern Art at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham on Monday.

Hansard featured in celebrated film The Commitments, and won an Oscar for best original song for Falling Slowly in 2008, which he co-wrote with Marketa Irglova for the movie Once.

He began an annual Christmas Eve charity busk outside the Gaiety Theatre 16 years ago, drawing members of the public to see famous Irish musicians perform in aid of the homeless in the city.

His funeral service began at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin at 1.30pm.

Several people had queued outside for hours to attend the service.

Among those who attended was Stefania Domesi from Italy.

She said: “I was here and then I heard about the funeral and the wake and I thought it was good to come.

“I really was astonished by the person that he was so I thought it was nice to come here.

“He was not just a musician and artist but he was a great person and he showed it in all his life.”

It was just the feeling that he brought to the music. You could see it in his eyes and his face

Theresa Martin travelled from Co Waterford to attend the funeral and was in the queue to enter the church.

She said: “It was just the feeling that he brought to the music. You could see it in his eyes and his face.

“It was true stories as well. It was unique.”

A number of traffic diversions are in place close to the cathedral to accommodate the funeral service.