Glen Hansard to Perform as Part of St Patrick’s Day Line-up, A Night of Music and Stories
In studio this week, glen hansard joins a roster of artists and storytellers assembled for a St Patrick’s Day special that mixes music, language and personal chapters. The bill brings together podcasters, actors, comedians, musicians and poets for a programme built around performance and conversation.
Who will appear on the St Patrick’s Day special?
The line-up gathers several names and projects noted for recent momentum. Louise Cantillon, co-host of the How to Gael podcast, will join Patrick Kielty in studio with Doireann Ní Ghlacáin and Síomha Ní Ruairc to discuss the podcast’s success and the revival of the Irish language. Joanne McNally will drop in before heading to Australia with her show Pinotphile and will reflect on becoming the first Irish comedian to headline back-to-back 3Arena shows. Actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers will speak about the loss of his home in the LA wildfires and his relocation to a farm in County Wexford, and Tommy Tiernan and Mick Flannery will discuss The House Must Win, a new musical drama written by Mick and starring Tommy. Cork poet and writer Daragh Fleming will perform a specially commissioned poem about St Patrick’s Day past and present, while Irish trad group Biird will take the stage to add a signature sound to the evening. The special is scheduled for 9: 35pm ET on Friday, March 13.
Who is Glen Hansard on the St Patrick’s Day special?
One of Ireland’s musicians on the bill, Glen Hansard will reflect on a career described in the line-up as starting on the streets of Dublin and culminating in an Oscar win. Now back on the road, he will perform one of his favourite Irish songs chosen for the weekend and will speak about why he believes Irish music remains one of the country’s greatest exports. Those are the details provided about his participation in the programme.
What themes connect the guests and performances?
The show’s pieces are threaded by return and reinvention: language revived through a popular podcast, a comedian marking a milestone before an international tour, a film actor shifting life after losing a home to wildfire and moving to rural life, and musicians revisiting the traditions that shaped them. The evening pairs individual stories with live performance—songs, a commissioned poem and a trad set—so that personal narrative and cultural expression sit side by side.
The mixture of conversation and performance is presented as intentional: guests will discuss the projects and life changes that define recent chapters, and performances are positioned to celebrate the weekend’s occasion. In this programme framing, glen hansard’s appearance is one element among many that connects personal history to a wider celebration of Irish culture.
As viewers watch the line-up unfold at 9: 35pm ET, the programme promises to move between intimate accounts and public performance, asking what continuity and change look like for artists whose work moves between local roots and international recognition.
Back in studio where the evening opens with conversations about language, travel and new projects, the finishing notes from glen hansard will arrive as both a nod to the past and a statement about music’s continuing reach — leaving the night open to reflection on how individual stories echo a larger cultural moment.
