Bono played a musical voicemail from Patti Smith and recited the lyrics of U2's 'Beautiful Day' at Glen Hansard's funeral in Dublin on Tuesday, August 4, as musicians from across the world gathered at St Patrick's Cathedral to say goodbye to the Irish singer-songwriter who died on July 29 at age 56 after a motorcycle crash. Eddie Vedder performed Hansard's song 'The Song of Good Hope,' harmonising with Markéta Irglová, who shared the 2008 Academy Award for Best Original Song with Hansard for 'Falling Slowly' from the film Once. The service closed with a group performance of Bob Dylan's 'Forever Young,' with Bono, Vedder, the Edge, Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers, and Irglová assembled together on a dais of singers, according to Rolling Stone.

Hansard's brother, Richie Hansard, spoke at the funeral, telling mourners that the family had inherited the best parts of Glen. Bono and the Edge arrived roughly fifteen minutes before the service began, the Irish Times reported in its live coverage from the cathedral. The funeral was broadcast on the RTÉ News channel.

Patti Smith had left the voicemail for Bono on the day Hansard died — a song she sang for Hansard's family — which Bono played aloud during the service. Among the other mourners inside St Patrick's were Hozier, Imelda May, and Jake Clemons of the E Street Band.

The funeral capped several days of public mourning in Dublin. Over 11,000 people attended a public wake for Hansard in the city, RTE reported. A memorial busk also took place in Dublin city centre, with musicians assembling near Grafton Street to pay tribute to a performer who had busked those same streets as a teenager before founding the Frames and later winning an Oscar with Irglová for a song from a low-budget Irish film that became a Broadway musical.

Hansard's family had confirmed his death through his official Facebook account on July 29 with the words: 'With broken hearts we announce the passing of Glen Hansard in the early hours of this morning.' His management told NPR that he died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin.

Hansard was a fixture of Dublin's musical life for more than three decades, and the scale of the turnout reflected it. He had led a band of Irish musical legends in a performance of 'Fairytale of New York' at Shane MacGowan's funeral in 2023 — a scene familiar to many of the same mourners who filled St Patrick's Cathedral this week. The cathedral on St Patrick's Close, Dublin 8, held its doors at 1:30pm for the service, the arrangements confirmed by Hansard's family on July 31.