THE WIFE OF Glen Hansard, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, made an emotional speech at the late musician’s funeral in St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Saaritsa and Hansard married in 2022 and welcomed their son Christy that same year. 

Addressing the throngs of mourners that packed out the historic cathedral, Saaritsa – whose name is recorded as Hansard in the funeral booklet – began by thanking the gardaí who responded to the scene of Hansard’s crash in west Dublin by name.

She said she wished to thank them for coming to her husband’s aid, but also “for the humanity they showed me in my most desperate hour”.

“I can find no adjective for the kind of support the family has been shown this past week. The word is hidden somewhere in the look in people’s eyes and in the depth of their good deeds.”

She said she owes her “deepest gratitude” to her and Hansard’s good friends who have helped guide her through her grief.

“As Glen’s wife, I want to thank him for the life we shared, searching for truth and beauty side by side.”

Their son Christy did not attend the funeral, with Saaritsa saying he is too young to “witness or understand an event of such scale”.

“The bright spirit he inherited from his father is with us.”

She finished her short address on an early poem she had written for Hansard in return for the songs he had written for her.

“Come to me with beauty. I require it to stay alive.

“I’m not talking of precious gifts, nor do I want a dolled-up, dutiful, and well-assessed array of tender words.

“Hurl the clash of what you’ve pocketed from this day at my feet, and then be brave enough to look me in the eye.

“Push the boundary of two minds till it stretches, till there are two bodies in one embrace, and a moment of understanding or acceptance, or blind faith, and a sense of the infinite jump and jive-that to me is beauty, and I require it to stay alive.”