There were no limits to who could get inside but the organisers were right in thinking that too many would want to, meaning that two big screens and a bank of speakers were set up next door.<\/p>\n
It meant that the park acted as a kind of scenic stage for hundreds to watch the funeral with the cathedral in the background and the sun beating down on them.<\/p>\n
The portaloos, hydration station and parched grass even made it look like a festival but that wasn\u2019t the atmosphere.<\/p>\n
This was very much a funeral as people stayed still and attentive, looking up at the screens and scanning for faces in the crowd rather than down at their phones.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Some canny mourners brought deck chairs to sit in and even the smell of cigarette smoke brought to mind memories of sitting in a field listening to music.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were several hundred there even an hour before Hansard\u2019s cort\u00e8ge arrived at the cathedral, but really packed up after his wicker casket had gone inside and people followed the crowd to go next door.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"crowds-gathered-outside-the-funeral-of-glen-hansard-at-st-patricks-cathedral-in-dublin-the-oscar-winning-irish-musician-and-activist-died-in-a-motorcycle-crash-last-week-picture-date-tuesday-augus\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785893412_933_.jpeg\")
\n A packed St Patrick’s Park during today’s funeral. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
Barriers had been set up along Patrick\u2019s Street and access to the St Patrick\u2019s Close main cathedral door was guarded by security and garda\u00ed.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There was a crowd at the corner of this busy city thoroughfare to get a glance at who was arriving, with the people there a mixture of fans and curious locals who may as well come down for a look.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To get down St Patrick\u2019s Close people had to have a wristband or be on a list that was being checked by the organisers at the gate.<\/p>\n
Even though this was a public funeral, priority was given to Hansard\u2019s friends, family and musical colleagues, a collection alone that could fill a cathedral.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were of course many famous faces to see, with Eddie Vedder, Steve Coogan,\u00a0Chris O\u2019Dowd among them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Musicians Hozier, Declan O\u2019Rourke, Jerry Fish and Imelda May were among the first to arrive at the cathedral.<\/p>\n
Among the political attendees, Gerry Adams was seen sharing a joke with a garda after he arrived by himself after a private car dropped him off.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Bells<\/p>\n
![\"the-coffin-is-brought-into-st-patricks-cathedral-in-dublin-for-the-funeral-of-glen-hansard-the-oscar-winning-irish-musician-and-activist-died-in-a-motorcycle-crash-last-week-picture-date-tuesday\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1785893413_241_.jpeg\")
\n The coffin is brought into St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin. Alamy Stock Photo<\/p>\n
Alamy Stock Photo\n<\/p>\n
The bells of St Patrick\u2019s Cathedral began to ring at 1.17pm, heralding the imminent arrival of the cortege. Five minutes later a horse-drawn hearse arrived from Dean Street across the road.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There were four horses pulling the hearse but Hansard\u2019s coffin was not inside. Instead, this was carried a couple of minutes later by his loved ones, with his wife Maire walking directly after.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was not a silent and mournful arrival, at the start of the cort\u00e9ge a man carried a speaker playing music and applause from the crowd shepherded Hansard into the church.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Media had a small section across from the entrance to the church to capture people arriving but there was no access inside for reporters.<\/p>\n
As the funeral of Glen Hansard takes place at St Patrick\u2019s Cathedral, large crowds have gathered to pay tribute to the late musician.<\/p>\n
Those unable to get inside are following the service on television screens installed in the park beside the cathedral. pic.twitter.com\/qgT9dZafmn<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) August 4, 2026<\/a> <\/p>\n Journalists followed the crowds to St Patrick\u2019s Park to get a sense of the scale of the funeral and how people felt.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n For the two hours of the service, the vast majority of those who took time out of their day to be there stayed for the duration.\u00a0<\/p>\n It was a fusion of people who came with a friend and people who came alone, many of whom made a connection with those standing near them.\u00a0<\/p>\n You could clearly see numerous people recognising a face and going in for a hug.<\/p>\n There were also others who cared less about the funeral but were just enjoying the sunshine and the buzz.\u00a0<\/p>\n Some people could be seen doodling, some were journalling and others were standing in quiet recollection.\u00a0<\/p>\n Service<\/p>\n There were some ripples of applause when\u00a0The Very Revd Dr. William Morton read his greeting and some scripture but the occasion really took on its surreal atmosphere when the music began.\u00a0<\/p>\n The whole park, and what felt like the whole of Dublin, fell silent as Hansard\u2019s Frames bandmate Colm Mac Con Iomaire played Port na bP\u00facai with S\u00e9amus Ong and Liam \u00d3 Maonla\u00ed.\u00a0<\/p>\n As Lisa O\u2019Neill later explained\u00a0Port na bP\u00facai means music of the ghosts and she told the story of when Glen Hansard gave her the keys of a house she lived in for seven years, saying as he did so: \u201cLet your imagination grow in this big space.\u201d<\/p>\n She did and the first song she wrote there was called\u00a0Old Note, which she performed with Mac Con Iomaire.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hansard\u2019s younger brother Richard gave the kind of moving eulogy that any sibling would give to one of their own, describing Glen as \u201ca son, a brother, and I promise you, a mad uncle\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Pearl Jam\u2019s Eddie Vedder performed Hansard\u2019s Song of Good Hope<\/a> alongside\u00a0Mark\u00e9ta Irglov\u00e1, while Kerryman Breand\u00e1n \u00d3 Beaglaoich read a poem named Glen Hansard, remarking that the man himself was \u201ca true Dub\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n Damien Dempsey retold how Hansard used to slag him for being \u201conly half a northsider\u201d because \u201cyour da\u2019s from Pearse Street.\u201d He added:\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Safe travels Glen. Say hello to Sinead and Seamus and Shane and Christy and all the great soul singers.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Journal<\/a> \/ YouTube<\/p>\n