Bono pays emotional tribute to 'angelic presence' Glen Hansard

U2's Bono has paid a heartfelt tribute to "smiling rascal" Glen Hansard.

On Wednesday, a representative announced that the Irish singer-songwriter had died in a motorcycle crash on the outskirts of Dublin. He was 56.

Following the tragic news, Bono posted a letter to the U2 Instagram account in which he honoured his late friend.

"Sometimes I would wonder if Glen Hansard really existed...," the frontman began. "Seriously, he was such an angelic presence... not otherworldly...in fact, very present this presence... A smiling rascal if you needed him to be... this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun... no airs, plenty of graces..."

Bono, real name Paul Hewson, went on to recall how Hansard was the "shining star" of the Christmas Eve busk and never walked by a person "living rough" without checking they were OK.

"Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man. The rest of us blessed to stand there beside our very own and very earthed Angel Gabriel... All of us welcome in his choir, whatever shape or form... and I'm telling myself this morning that if he never existed, then he can never cease to exist. For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case. May you rest in the peace you gave to so many," he added.

Elsewhere, Bob Geldof described Hansard as a "thoughtful, burstingly talented man," and Ed Sheeran called him an "incredible human".

Josh Groban remembered the Falling Slowly hitmaker as an "absolute gem", while Lin-Manuel Miranda labelled him a "once in a lifetime" artist.

And in a lengthy statement, Hozier expressed his "shock and sorrow" over the sad news.

"Glen's legacy reaches far beyond that of an Irish or Dublin musician whose work became beloved globally; he was a uniquely central feature and vessel of Irish storytelling on both stage, screen and street for as long as many of us can remember," the Take Me to Church singer reflected. "Glen is so indelibly tied into the life and breath of Irish music, and particularly the city of Dublin, that it feels utterly surreal to imagine that he could be gone from us now."

Hansard is survived by his wife, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, and their son.