In the run-up to Glen Hansard’s funeral, many may have wondered who would lead the chorus in the absence of the man who made other singers’ ceremonies such singalong, celebratory affairs.In the end, while the tears flowed, so too did the music, climaxing in a raucous version of Bob Dylan’s Forever Young as Hansard’s simple wicker coffin was borne from St Patrick’s Cathedral on the shoulders of those closest to him. Music was ever present but, ultimately, even it had to play second fiddle to the heartache of a family who have lost a brother, a husband and a father.Thousands of people turned out for Glen Hansard's funeral in Dublin and crowds watched on screens in St Patrick's Park. Video: Enda O'Dowd The Frames, Markéta Irglová, Eddie Vedder, Bono, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, Lisa O’Neill, Breanndán Ó Beaglaoich and even Patti Smith – via a voice note she had sent to the U2 singer after hearing of Hansard’s death – paid tribute to the singer-songwriter in song and verse.But it was his brother’s voice that stopped everyone in their tracks.Gary, the funeral was told, had been instrumental in Hansard taking up the guitar as a young boy, and when he sang I Can See God from the altar with a gentle musical accompaniment from The Frames, the sense of awe from the congregation inside and outside the cathedral was palpable.[ In pictures: The funeral of Glen HansardOpens in new window ]And there were many more outside than inside. From well before midday, stern-faced officials policing the State’s largest funeral since Shane MacGowan’s death in December 2023 were telling would-be mourners the pews in the cathedral were taken, with some of those who had managed to get seats indoors standing in line for hours. The comparative latecomers were instead directed to find a spot on the sunburnt grass of the adjacent park, where two giant screens had been set up to allow people to pay their respects and bid their farewells. The funeral was told of Hansard’s accomplishments as a musician, activist and campaigner for social justice. But his relatively recent responsibilities as a husband and father took prominence. As the ceremony started, gifts were brought to the altar, including a guitar which was placed beside his coffin and a framed picture of Hansard with his wife Maire and young son Christy. [ A wicker coffin, a grieving widow and a son too young to be thereOpens in new window ]She spoke briefly during the service, thanking the gardaí and first responders who aided following the fatal motorcycle crash at the Strawberry Beds, Lucan, early last Wednesday; and Hansard “for the life we shared searching for beauty and truth side by side”. She said that beauty had been found “in our son Christy” and told mourners that at just three years old he was too young to be at the funeral but the “bright spirit he inherited from Glen is with us”. And when the ceremony ended with a suitably bawdy Auld Triangle, the cathedral’s environs were packed with Dubliners keen to give the singer one final round of applause and a last goodbye. The only one missing from the street party was Hansard.