Lisa O’Neill has performed a moving rendition of ‘Old Note’ at Glen Hansard’s funeral, three years after the two of them performed the same track at Shane MacGowan’s memorial service.
O’Neill was joined by former Frames members Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Joseph Doyle, and Michael Buckley at the service, which was held at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin yesterday (Tuesday August 4). Together they sang a moving rendition of the song, which featured on her 2023 album ‘All of This Is Chance’.
The moment was particularly poignant as, back in 2023, Hansard and O’Neill performed the same track at the funeral of Shane MacGowan, and were backed by members of The Pogues.
Ahead of the performance yesterday, O’Neill shared how Hansard helped inspire the song, saying that he gave her the keys to an apartment in Dublin, and she later wrote the track there. His words of advice, she recalled, were: “Let your imagination grow in this big space and write songs”.
Lisa O’Neill performs ‘Old Note’ alongside Colm Mac Con Iamaire at the funeral of Glen Hansard. pic.twitter.com/TpPPa0AEzp
— RTÉ One (@RTEOne) August 4, 2026
The funeral also featured another musical performance from Colm Mac Con Iomaire and Liam Ó Maonlaí, and Eddie Vedder and Markéta Irglová came together to perform ‘The Song of Good Hope’. Hansard and Irglova released three albums as The Swell Season, while Hansard also collaborated frequently with Vedder – regularly opening for him and contributing to his second solo album, ‘Ukulele Songs’.
Bono also performed a spoken word version of U2’s ‘A Beautiful Day’ at the service, reworking some of the lyrics to pay homage to him: “You write your life until the story becomes true.”
Those in attendance paying their respects were Hozier, The Edge, Steve Coogan, Imelda May, Paddy Casey, Declan O’Rourke, and Angeline Ball – the latter of which starred alongside Hansard in The Commitments.
Hansard, the Oscar-winning Once star also known as the frontman of The Frames, died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin last Wednesday (July 29). He was 56 years old.
Many fans paid their respects at a public wake in the city on Monday (August 3), with Hansard’s family asking that, in lieu of flowers or gifts, mourners make donations to the Dublin Simon Community or Ukrainian Action. Hansard was a longstanding supporter of the former, helping organise their annual Christmas Eve busking event in Dublin.
He started the annual event in 2010, which attracted high-profile musicians including Sinéad O’Connor and McGowan. Hansard himself had started his career as a busker on the streets of Dublin before forming The Frames.
Since news of his passing, footage has emerged of Hansard’s final live performance, which took place at The Wren’s Nest pub in Chapelizod just hours before his death. He also spoke recently about his powerful friendship with Eddie Vedder.
Tributes have been shared by figures including Bruce Springsteen, Warren Ellis, Rachel Zegler and former Irish President Michael D. Higgins. Barack Obama also included Hansard on his annual summer playlist, while Billie Eilish and Finneas’ mother Maggie Baird said her children “would not be who they are” without his music.
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