Markéta Irglová Honors Glen Hansard’s Swell Season Bandmate, While Bono Rewrites ‘Beautiful Day’ Lyrics: ‘Big Spirit on a Big Mission’

One day after his former Swell Season bandmate, Glen Hansard, was laid to rest during a profoundly moving funeral service in Dublin, singer Markéta Irglová shared a touching online tribute on Wednesday, August 5.

Accompanying her message with their 2023 collaboration “The Answer is Yes” and a framed photograph of the duo resting on a piano keyboard, Irglová wrote: “Glen was a formidable spirit on a grand mission. I always believed he possessed a divine gift, charged with the raw energy of the earth. Carrying such immense weight is never easy, and sharing that burden with him along the way has been the greatest honor of my life. I thank him and God for that profound trust, and I know our paths will cross again. Farewell, my dear friend.”

Hansard, an Academy Award winner, tragically passed away at the age of 56 following a morning motorcycle accident in his native Dublin.

Family, lifelong friends, and fellow music legends gathered at St. Patrick’s Cathedral to celebrate his extraordinary life and enduring legacy. The service drew an illustrious gathering of mourners, including Bono and The Edge of U2, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder, Hozier, Imelda May, Jake Clemons of the E Street Band, and Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers.

Reflecting on Hansard’s rare gift for instant connection—noting how he effortlessly made best friends out of strangers on the green, listeners tuning in from afar, and anyone lucky enough to cross his path—Bono delivered a stirring spoken-word rendition of U2’s anthem “Beautiful Day,” accompanied by The Edge.

The band subsequently published these rewritten lyrics alongside a striking portrait of Hansard by acclaimed Irish artist Colin Davidson. The verses read: “See those eyes flashing landing light blue / Seven towers holding up the sky for you / Arrivals and departures, this is what we do.”

The tribute continued: “You write your life ’til the story becomes true / Ginger cake smile, a movie star too / If the street be your stage how come there’s thousands in the queue / McDaid’s feels like a stadium but there’s only me and you / You left a hangover from hell, of this there is no doubt / But as you wake up in heaven, all the angels will shout.”

The memorial also featured a poignant voicemail lullaby sent by punk icon Patti Smith, alongside Bono’s emotive reading of the reimagined lyrics.

Adding to the musical farewell, Eddie Vedder joined Irglová to perform Hansard’s deeply reflective song “The Song of Good Hope,” while Hansard’s brother, Richie, delivered a deeply moving eulogy. The gathering concluded with a stirring collective cover of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young,” uniting Bono, Vedder, The Edge, Ó Maonlaí, and a choir of musicians surrounding the altar in harmonious tribute.

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