The body of Glen Hansard, who died on July 29 at the age of 56, rested on Monday at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin, where several thousand anonymous people, according to public television RTE, came to pay their respects. His funeral, open to the public, will be held Tuesday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral — with music.
Hundreds of fans came to pay their last respects to Glen Hansard during a public vigil organized on Monday in Dublin. The Irish singer and songwriter died on July 29 at the age of 56 in a motorcycle accident, causing an immense wave of emotion among his peers and his audiences around the world.
Hansard’s remains lay in a wicker coffin at the baroque chapel of the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Kilmainham, Dublin, until the end of Monday. Many of the mourners who lined up to greet the musician shared their stories and memories of concerts.
Chris James told the BBC he first saw Hansard 25 years ago, when he was busking on Grafton Street, Dublin. “I thought it was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen — it’s one of the reasons I picked up the guitarhe confided. I met him several times. An adorable guy, totally modest, who wanted the best for everyone. He knew there was a lot of misery around him and, rather than railing against it, he simply wanted to bring people together. »
RTE estimated the crowd at several thousand people. Kevin Bret told the Irish media outlet that he briefly worked as a roadie with the Frames in the late ’90s, calling Hansard’s death “a huge loss to the Irish music community.” RTE also interviewed several people who came specially for the vigil, including a fan from Chicago and another from the Netherlands.
Zoe Hayter told the Irish Independent that she first encountered Hansard when she was 10 years old. “I never, ever believed that someone could change your life in the most beautiful wayshe said. He brought me into a world that is the most magical thing you can be a part of. No one but him could have done this, for anyone — and he did it for me, and he did it for the whole world. The whole world is crying, there will never be anyone like him again, and I will never stop loving him, and I know no one will stop. »
Hansard’s funeral will be held at 1:30 p.m. local time on Tuesday at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin. The ceremony will be open to the public, but access to the interior of the cathedral will be extremely limited given the expected crowds. His family said that “funeral music will be provided by Glen’s friends and family.”
Due to the expected crowd and the limited number of places, a sound system will be installed outside the cathedral. The funeral will also be broadcast live by Irish news channel RTE News and on the RIP.IE website. Rather than flowers and gifts, Hansard’s family invites mourners to make a donation to the Simon Community in Dublin, an association helping the homeless, or to Ukrainian Action.
Glen Hansard rose to international fame with the drama Ounce (2007); he was also the frontman of the rock group The Frames and the duo Swell Season. Born in the Irish capital on April 21, 1970, he started out as a street musician. He then won the Oscar for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly”, written and performed in Ounce alongside his on-screen partner and former companion Markéta Irglová.
