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Hundreds of people lined up to pay their respects.
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Thousands pay tribute to Glen Hansard at public wake in Dublin
The public wake is being held in the Baroque Chapel at the Irish Museum of Modern Art between 11am and 4pm.
LAST UPDATE | 3 Aug
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE queued to pay their respects to musician Glen Hansard at his public wake today.
Hansard was killed in a road crash at the Strawberry Beds near Lucan in West Dublin in the early hours of Wednesday, 29 July. He was 56.
He was an Oscar-winning songwriter and lead singer with Dublin band The Frames.
Hansard was married to the Finnish poet Maire Saarista, with whom he had a young son.
A public wake held today in the Baroque Chapel at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin between 11am and 4pm saw people of all ages come together to pay their respects.
One couple in their 50s told The Journal about how they remember following his music during their college years, and their delight at watching him win an Oscar in 2008 – but most importantly, their respect for his campaigning work on behalf of homeless people.
Gwen from Kildare said that she and her partner followed him “all the way through” his career.
“We grew up with him as part of our background as part of Irish culture, he was such a big name,” her partner Peter said.
“It was really what he did with the buskers for the homeless every Christmas. He was the one who got Bono on board, what he’s done for people, it shows here today there’s so many people here and it’s not surprising, because he touched everyone,” Gwen added.
Further up the queue, a young musician called Barra Donovan said that he was lucky enough to recently meet Hansard and get some career advice.
“It was after the All-Ireland and I found myself in Whelan’s, who walks in but Glen, we had this beautiful conversation about music, and even I was trying to say ‘man I love the Frames’ he kept bringing the conversation back to my music and what I was trying to do,” the 21-year-old said.
“I asked him for advice, because what else do you do when you meet your hero? And he just said ‘keep at it and don’t stop’,” he said.
Joan Brown, a 77-year-old Dublin woman, said that she had come to pay her respects because Hansard “was just such a good man”.
“I met him in town one day, and I felt I was intruding on him by going up to him but he was so lovely and authentic, it’s not surprising everyone’s here because he was so loved,” she added.
“It was just sitting at a bar with him, having a quiet one in Whelan’s in the early nineties, that’s what I remember of him,” a Dublin woman called Claire said.
“I played with him a few times in the 2000s when I was playing bass, he was a legend on and off the stage, so we’ve come to pay our respects,” her partner Bernard added.
“It didn’t matter if someone was a superstar, or playing in the band, or just sitting waiting to get a chat with him, he dealt with everyone the same, that’s what he was like,” he further said.
Funeral details
The funeral is set to place tomorrow at 1.30pm in St Patrick’s Cathedral.
The funeral service will be open to the public, but access will be “extremely” limited due to the number of people expected to attend. The service will also be livestreamed.
Music at the funeral will be provided by Hansard’s friends and family.
Hansard’s death led to an outpouring of tributes, ranging from figures like Billie Eilish to Barack Obama.
Billie Eilish said she “wouldn’t be who I am today without Glen”, while Obama described Hansard as a “great musician”.
Bono also released a lengthy tribute to Hansard, calling him “otherworldly” and “a smiling rascal if you needed him to be”, while Damien Dempsey described him as “the most powerful passionate performer I ever shared a stage with”.
Musicians gathered in Dublin city centre on Thursday to remember Hansard by playing some of his songs near the spot where he led an annual busking event every Christmas.
Additional reporting by Diarmuid Pepper and Lauren Boland
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