Dublin Christmas Eve Busk Returns to Support Simon Community

Dublin’s annual Christmas Eve busk will return on December 24 without Glen Hansard, who died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin on July 29 at the age of 56.

The event has raised more than €1 million for Dublin Simon Community since starting as an impromptu sing-song on Grafton Street in 2010, RTÉ reported. It has since developed into an organised gathering outside The Gaiety Theatre.

Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community, said the musician’s passing made this year’s fundraiser particularly poignant.

“It’s a particularly poignant time for us this year. Obviously, his passing during the year was incredibly impactful for us all,” Kenny told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland.

“And showing that there's still a dedication to raising that awareness, but also the true belief that homelessness isn't inevitable and that, by coming together, change is possible,” Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community, told RTÉ Radio 1's Morning Ireland.

“It’s so incredible to see the community that are coming together, as you said, led by Mundy, Danny O’Reilly and Imelda May, that community coming together during the emotional time and keeping his message, and the issue of homelessness, alive,” Kenny said.

Mundy, The Coronas frontman Danny O’Reilly, and Imelda May will perform on Grafton Street and the surrounding area to support people experiencing homelessness, Hot Press reported. Past performers at the event have included Bono, Damien Rice, Dermot Kennedy, Sinéad O’Connor, and Lisa Hannigan, according to Hot Press.

Kenny said that around 70 percent of the country’s homeless population is concentrated in Dublin. Hot Press cited figures showing 17,885 people in homeless accommodation across the country.

“Really, at a time at Christmas when most of us think about warmth and home and being with the people we love, but for the people behind those numbers experiencing homelessness, they don’t have that sense of safety and security,” Kenny told RTÉ Radio 1’s Morning Ireland. “It’s a particularly difficult time of year. They’ve got nowhere to call home.”

Funds raised from the busk go directly toward frontline services, including outreach on the streets, temporary accommodation, and prevention efforts to help people sustain their existing homes, RTÉ reported.

The busk is one of several fundraising events scheduled ahead of Christmas. A Dublin Simon Community Christmas Art Auction will run from November 29 to December 9, featuring signed items and original artwork from more than 200 Irish artists and household names including Bono, The Corrs, Imelda May, and Aidan Gillen, IrishCentral reported.

The Sing for Simon Christmas Concert at the Helix featuring David Keenan is scheduled for December 6, Hot Press reported. A Carolathon is also scheduled for December 14, RTÉ reported.

Additionally, a tribute album titled 20th Century Paddy, honoring the late Shane MacGowan, is set for release with 50 percent of its proceeds going to Dublin Simon Community, IrishCentral reported. The record includes a recording of The Pogues classic Bottle of Smoke by Glen Hansard, made in October 2024 at the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles with accordion player James Fearnley guesting, and released with the consent of Hansard’s family.

Kenny described Hansard’s recording as “especially poignant” because it unites the legacies of two artists who cared deeply about people experiencing homelessness, IrishCentral reported.

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