Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Dublin on Saturday to pay their respects to Aslan frontman Christy Dignam, who died on Tuesday following a long battle with rare blood disorder.
Dignam's funeral procession began at 9:30 a.m. on Cardiffsbridge Road in Finglas near his family home before passing St. Fergal's National Boys School, where Dignam's singing career began.
The procession then made its way to Erin's Isle GAA Club, where Dignam's family paused to watch a 20-minute tribute to the Irish singer on a specially-erected screen.
Dignam's widow Kathryn, daughter Kiera, son-in-law Darren, and his three grandchildren were embraced by members of the crowd as they watched the emotional tribute in the pouring rain on Saturday morning.
Departing Late Late Show host Ryan Tubridy, who interviewed Dignam on several occasions during the singer's battle with cancer, said in the video that it was a "privilege to sit beside him".
"Every time Christy came through a radio or TV studio you knew something special was going to happen. He had a great love of Ireland, a great love of family, a great love of Finglas," Tubridy said in the video tribute.
"The people of Ireland had taken Dignam to their hearts. He’s one of ours. We are going to miss him. That was the wind in his sails as he headed off to the next place."
As the video tribute came to an end, many members of the crowd sang along to Aslan hits "This Is" and "Crazy World", while some mourners also broke into a spontaneous chant of "We love you Christy, we do".
Thousands of Aslan fans sing This Is as Christy Dignams family pause to watch a video tribute to him in Finglas as part of his funeral procession @rtenews pic.twitter.com/h9J8XWPQtb
— Samantha Libreri (@SamanthaLibreri) June 17, 2023
U2 paid tribute to Dignam with a floral tribute that was placed alongside his coffin.
"There is no end to grief, that's how we know there is no end to love," the message said.
Dignam's coffin was then taken to Glasnevin Cemetery for a private family ceremony.
Dignam was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in 2013 and died peacefully in his family home on Tuesday, his daughter Kiera announced on social media.
Delivering his eulogy on Saturday, Kiera said she had been preparing for her father's death for the past 10 years.
"I started writing this on the 11th of March. In my head, I've been writing it for 10 years but we got used to my Da giving us false alarms and going against every rule in the history of medical science so I didn't think I was ever actually going to have to finish it," Kiera said on Saturday.
"Although the last 10 years particularly the last year have been very hard we have been very lucky to have that time to make memories and have holidays and dinners and days that we can remember together and although it will be tough for a while to listen to his music or watch a video we are privileged to have them forever."
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