Performers and music fans sang the words of Glen Hansard's Oscar winning hit "Falling, Slowly" in the heart of Dublin city as they paid tribute following his death.
Dublin singer-songwriter Hansard, who was 56, tragically died in a motorcycle crash on the Lower Road in the Strawberry Beds area of Lucan on Wednesday morning. The Ballymun man began his career busking on the streets of Dublin.
A packed crowd of performers who took part in Hansard's famous Christmas Eve busks gathered at the Luke Kelly statue on King Street on Thursday evening. While the gathering was initially planned for the Gaiety Theatre, the purpose of the memorial remained the same.
One of Glen's guitars was present at the event which was organised by Jamie Harrington, a fellow Ballymun man and friend of Hansard's. Speaking to Dublin Live ahead of the performance, he paid tribute to their relationship.
He said: "Glen was so loved. There's too many memories of Glen. Glen was a shining light in my life, I met him in Ballymun and became friends with him. It was never no with Glen, it was never "we can't do that". It was always "we'll figure it out". For me, Glen always made sure that younger talent shone and even if you couldn't do something, or sing, or dance, Glen still loved you. He just loved you for being you."
Speaking to the crowd during the busk, Jamie added: "He was a musician, he was an actor, he was an Oscar winner and he was a ****ing Ballymuner. We all have different experiences of Glen and Glen's music, and that's why there's so many people here. He touched so many people's lives in so many different ways. We're just here to celebrate Glen, to listen to his music and to be together.
"When we lose someone in Ireland we do this awful thing where we go "I'm grand, don't want to talk about it". This gathering is to talk about the loss, to say yeah he's gone. We're not going to get to see him live again, so let's celebrate him today and every other day by listening to his music and talking about him. These are some of the musicians from the Christmas Eve busk, we all met Glen at different stages of our lives and he gave us all a chance to do something. Some of us could sing, some of us can't, he still took us under his wing and made us part of the gang. In the words of Glen Hansard, raise your voice up loud."
Glen Hansard's career began in the 90s when he formed The Frames and appeared in The Commitments, and went on to have success worldwide. His most famous international moment came in 2008 when he won an Oscar for the song "Falling, Slowly" from the movie Once, which he also starred in and created the soundtrack alongside Markéta Irglová.
He also became known for the Christmas Eve busk outside the Gaiety, with some of Ireland's biggest superstars including Bono and Hozier taking part over the years. Busker Thomas Dunne shared the moment he got involved with the Christmas Eve busk, which was organised in support of Dublin's homeless community.
He said: "I was homeless and I was staying in a respite unit up in Usher's Quay. I'd been asked would I like to do the Simon busking for the homeless, so I went down. Glen was there, The Script, Bono, and I got up and I did a song about homelessness. A rap song about homelessness. Glen did it every year, that was his thing. That will be one of his legacies, among many."
Dublin singer Shobsy also shared memories from the busks, adding: "It was such an honour when he asked me to come down. It's an amazing cause, that happens not too far from where we're standing right now, every Christmas Eve. He was so encouraging, I think that was the thing that everyone felt about him. No matter who you were, he loved music, and if you were going to offer some music, he had respect for you, for that.
"I can't even put into words how big a loss this is for everybody. When I first met him, and I first met him there, he said hello like we'd always known each other. That's what he did to everybody. My fondest memory was when he literally said, "oh, you've made it!", but he said you've made it as if we'd always known each other. I can still see his face, his warmth, and I think like everyone here, it hasn't sunk in and it won't for a long time."
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