Bono and Eddie Vedder Honor Glen Hansard at Dublin Funeral
Friends, family, and rock royalty gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin for the funeral of Irish singer-songwriter and actor Glen Hansard. The Frames frontman, Swell Season co-founder, and solo artist tragically lost his life at age 56 following a motorcycle crash in Lucan.
The service was a profoundly musical affair fitting for a beloved figure in the global rock and folk community. Among the mourners in attendance were U2’s Bono and The Edge, Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, Hozier, Imelda May, Damien Dempsey, Steve Coogan, Dermot Kennedy, and the E Street Band’s Jake Clemons.
Bono Shares Patti Smith Lullaby and Recites U2 Lyrics
Taking the dais to deliver a eulogy, Bono celebrated Hansard’s extraordinary capacity for friendship. “People on the green outside, best friends,” Bono told the congregation. “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 played a voicemail message left by Patti Smith on the day Hansard died, sharing a special lullaby she recorded for the musician’s family. Smith’s voice rang out through the cathedral via phone, singing lyrics that praised Hansard’s poetic spirit: “It was a very nice day, a very nice day / Across the glen, he came my way / With a book in hand, and a melody / And the sun was shining down.”
Following the audio note, Bono delivered a mostly spoken-word piece alongside The Edge, rewriting portions of U2’s “Beautiful Day” to honor his late peer: “You write your life until the story becomes true.”
Eddie Vedder Performs ‘Song of Good Hope’
Eddie Vedder delivered one of the service’s most emotional musical moments, performing Hansard’s track “The Song of Good Hope”. Vedder was joined by Hansard’s former bandmates in The Frames and his Once co-star and musical collaborator, Markéta Irglová.
Vedder and Hansard’s deep friendship was forged under difficult circumstances after meeting in 2010, following a traumatic incident at a Swell Season show in California. Hansard recently recounted how Vedder reached out to support him through the aftermath, calling him daily for five days to help him process the tragedy.
Toward the conclusion of the service, Bono, Vedder, The Edge, and Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers joined a dais full of singers for a group rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” as the casket left the cathedral.
When AC/DC’s Brian Johnson Played Football With Chuck Norris
Picture the scene: it is 1983, and AC/DC vocalist Brian Johnson is standing under the floodlights at Florence’s Stadio Comunale in front of 25,000 screaming fans. Only, he is not holding a microphone on a rock stage—he is playing in a charity football match for a United States celebrity all-star team against an Italian show business XI.
Recalling the surreal experience during a vintage interview with Tyne Tees Television, Johnson revealed that the US squad had a secret weapon on the pitch: martial arts icon Chuck Norris.
“There was about 25,000 there,” Johnson remembered. “It was floodlit and yer knees turned to jelly. It was against the Italian showbiz XI and they were unbeaten; they thought we were gonna be a walk-over, but they didn’t know we had Chuck Norris. He was centre-half and you didn’t go near the man – he was dangerous!”
A Red Card and a Man of the Match Trophy
Despite Norris ultimately earning a red card, Team USA managed to pull off a 1-0 victory against the previously undefeated Italian side. To top off the bizarre afternoon, legendary Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff presented Johnson with the Man of the Match award.
“It was a fantastic night,” Johnson said. “Music’s me love and football’s me passion, you know what I mean? They’re two different things.”
During the same 1983 interview, the Dunston-born singer also discussed his deep roots in the North East of England and shared ambitions to financially invest £100,000 into Newcastle United following their signing of Kevin Keegan. While that particular financial backing never materialized, Johnson’s lifelong fandom remains intact, punctuated by a cameo in the 2005 film Goal! The Dream Begins and a voiceover for a Newcastle United hype video in 2025.
(Photo by Andreas Rentz /Getty Images)
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