Dublin, Ireland - Thousands of mourners, including U2 frontman Bono, gathered in Dublin Tuesday for the funeral of Oscar-winning Irish musician and actor Glen Hansard, who starred in the 1991 cult film The Commitments.

The star-studded funeral service for Hansard, who died last week in a motorcycle crash aged 56, saw top musicians pay tribute and perform in memory of the influential figure.

Hansard played lanky guitarist Outspan Foster in the feel-good musical-comedy The Commitments, directed by Alan Parker, about a band playing classic 1950s and 1960s soul music.

Based on a book by author Roddy Doyle and with a powerful musical score, it won four Baftas and was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe.

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Born in Ballymun, Dublin, in April 1970, Hansard began playing music very young, performing on Dublin streets and founding the band The Frames in 1990.

With Hansard as lead singer, guitarist and composer, The Frames became one of the most popular bands on Ireland's music scene, and he won international acclaim during three decades working in film, music and cinema.

At the funeral in Dublin's St. Patrick's Cathedral, aired live on Irish television, Bono sang lyrics from U2 track Beautiful Day and encouraged mourners to join in.

He also played a voice mail message from punk rock veteran Patti Smith where she sang a lullaby for Hansard.

Those unable to fit inside the cathedral sat on the grass outside to watch the service on large screens while more than 40,000 watched a live-stream.

"I'm here to pay my respects to Glen, who was a cultural icon for a lot of us," one young mourner, Conor Behan, told AFP outside the cathedral.

"He came from a very poor background himself, but he never forgot that, and he helped a lot of young musicians realize their dreams," said another mourner, Siobhan O'Brien.

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In 2007, Hansard won an Oscar with Czech musician Marketa Irglova for their co-written song Falling Slowly from the Irish romantic film Once directed by John Carney.

Set in Dublin, Hansard plays a busker who meets fellow musician Irglova, bonding over their shared love of music.

At the funeral, Irglova performed Hansard's The Song of Good Hope with Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder and The Frames.