Glen Hansard as an activist: A ‘giant in the fight against homelessness’

It is a long-established tradition that Grafton Street, or one nearby, is filled with the sound of Ireland’s most recognisable singing voices each Christmas Eve. The annual charity busk, organised by Oscar-winning singer-songwriter Glen Hansard who died on Wednesday, celebrated its 15th anniversary last year.Bono, Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May, Shane MacGowan, Dermot Kennedy, Gavin James, Róisín O and Damien Rice are just some of the singers who have joined The Frames frontman for performances that nearly always included a rendition of the Pogues classic, Fairytale of New York.The gigs have been performed in aid of the Dublin Simon Community, a charity long supported by Hansard, that provides services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.READ MOREBono takes part in the annual Christmas Eve busk on Grafton Street in Dublin in 2025. Photograph: PA The charity said in a statement that its staff and volunteers were “devastated” to learn of Hansard’s death. As well as being a gifted songwriter and storyteller, he was a “true advocate” for the Dublin Simon Community’s work and a “giant in the fight against homelessness”, it said.The Christmas Eve busk raised “vital awareness” of the homelessness crisis and more than €2 million, which has helped keep the charity’s essential services running, it said.“He took it upon himself to bring together Ireland’s leading musicians to help shine a spotlight on what he saw as an injustice in our society.”Hansard had a “deep respect and empathy” for people navigating the challenges of homelessness, the charity said. “Glen’s talents will indeed be his legacy but so too will his commitment to social justice. We will be forever indebted to him for the difference he made in the lives of the people we serve.”Hansard, who grew up in Ballymun, north Dublin, began volunteering with the Dublin Simon Community at the age of 15. At 17 he and some friends tried to set up a shelter called the First Step Project, he told the Big Issue, a magazine that is sold by people who are experiencing homelessness or financial hardship.He said he had an aunt who battled alcoholism and died homeless on a park bench in Birmingham on Christmas Day.In 2014 he addressed a crowd of people protesting against the government’s plan to introduce water charges.Damien Dempsey (left) and Glen Hansard performing at a Right2Water anti-water charges protest outside Leinster House. Photograph: PA “I’m not political, but the Irish nation has now been forced to be [political] and to come out on the streets,” he said.“It feels like there are more and more screws being put on the people, to pay taxes for this, that and the other ... I think there is a general sense of anger, a seething dissatisfaction and I’m just like anyone else.” Just before Christmas 2016, he and about 100 others, including high profile artists, took control of Apollo House, an empty office building in central Dublin, to highlight the homelessness crisis and to provide shelter to people on the streets. They eventually left following a court order.Glen Hansard, Christy Dignam and Jim Sheridan at Apollo House, Dublin. Photograph: Collins Two years later he told The Irish Times he had “regrets, of course, about Apollo”, but he was happy to have been involved with it.“I was happy, I was naive enough to think I could make a difference. That’s when change happens, when people don’t second-guess themselves. They just get involved for better or worse. It was an important experience,” he said. In 2017 he performed outside Leinster House a reworded version of Happy Xmas (War is Over), telling the government to “get your asses in gear” as a “doorway is no place to be sleeping” and a “hotel is no place to raise your children”.