'It's just a loss to Ireland': Fans pay tribute to Glen Hansard at public wake
A queue of hundreds of people who came to pay their respects snaked around the venue on Monday morning with thousands expected over the course of the day.
A public wake is currently underway in Dublin for the acclaimed Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, as fans gather to pay their respects ahead of his funeral tomorrow. The Oscar-winning musician tragically died last week in a single-vehicle motorbike accident.
The wake is being held at the Baroque Chapel within the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Kilmainham, Dublin. On Monday morning, a line of hundreds of mourners stretched around the venue, with thousands more anticipated throughout the day. Despite the continuous arrival of people at IMMA, the queue moved steadily.
Ronan Buckley, accompanied by his wife Rebecca and their children Leah and Lily, shared their reasons for attending. "I've been to loads of his concerts and his music was fantastic. His outlook on life was brilliant," Ronan stated. "We felt we had to be here." Rebecca added, "We have the kids here today and they're also fans through us. It's just a massive loss to Ireland."
Danni Rohde, a devoted fan of Hansard's band, The Frames, has attended approximately 50 of their concerts, including one of his final performances on July 3 at Trinity College Dublin. She told BBC News NI, "It's just such a big part of my late teens, early 20s. That whole part of my life is just tied to Frames gigs, when they were playing more or less every weekend. It doesn't really feel real." Her mother, Miriam Rohde Joyce, expressed their desire to come and pay their respects.
Chris James, who was near the front of the queue after waiting for about half an hour, recalled seeing Hansard busking on Dublin's Grafton Street 25 years ago. "I thought it one of the most coolest things I'd ever seen and one of the reasons I picked up and started playing guitar. I met him a couple of times," James said. "Just a lovely fellow, totally unassuming, wanted the best for everybody, knew that there was an awful lot of hardship around and instead of giving out about it, he just wanted to bring people together."
Hansard's funeral is scheduled for 13:30 local time on Tuesday at St Patrick's Cathedral in central Dublin. His sudden passing sent shockwaves through the music world and among fans, prompting tributes from artists like Ed Sheeran and Bruce Springsteen, who expressed his heartbreak.
Hansard's illustrious career spanned over three decades. In 2008, he and Marketa Irglova won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for their work in the low-budget musical romance film *Once*. The duo also released three albums as The Swell Season. Hansard achieved solo success as well, with his 2016 album *Didn't He Ramble* earning a Grammy nomination that same year.