The Script and their fans were devastated in 2023 when guitarist Mark Sheehan suddenly passed away following a short illness – leaving behind his wife and three kids
The Script star Danny O’Donoghue made an emotional tribute to late guitarist Mark Sheehan while performing at Glastonbury on Saturday. The Irish band were formed in 2001 with Danny and Mark joined by fellow original members Glen Power and Benjamin Sargeant – who play drums and bass.
The band was left heartbroken in April 2023 when Mark died at the age of 46 following a brief illness. Taking to the stage at Glastonbury, Danny took a moment to pay tribute to his late friend.
After performing The Man Who Can’t Be Move, the 44-year-old singer took a seat on the edge of the stage and told the audience how much he missed his friend. He shared: “There’s one person I really wish was here to see this.
“He was on the stage 17 years ago. We lost my best mate and the founding member of The Script Mark Sheehan, we lost him nearly a year and a half ago.
“I just want to thank every single person here for keeping us going, for all your thoughts and all your prayers, thank you so much.” The touching words provoked a chorus of cheers from the audience, spurring Danny and the band onwards.
He added: “I know he’s having a whiskey right now looking down on us. With that I’m gonna dedicate this song to him, this song is called If You Could See Me Now.”
Fans of The Script were shocked by the sudden passing of Mark in 2023 – with the guitarist playing with the group from its creation until his shock passing. His death was announced in a social media post shared via Facebook.
The statement said: “Much loved husband, father, brother, band mate and friend Mark Sheehan passed away today in hospital after a brief illness. The family and group ask fans to respect their privacy at this tragic time.”
Mark had moved to America where he lived with his wife, Rina, and their three children. He died on 14 April 2023.
The Script were just one of the many acts performing for excited music fans at Glastonbury during the 2025 festival. Sir Rod Stewart has previously explained how thrilled he is to be headlining one of the stages on Sunday.
He told the BBC: “I just wish they wouldn’t call it the tea time slot. That sounds like pipe and slippers, doesn’t it?” However, he went on to tease fans what to expect when he takes to the stage.
He said: “Usually I do well over two hours so there’s still a load of songs we won’t be able to do. But we’ve been working at it.
“I’m not gonna make any announcements between songs. I’ll do one number, shout ‘next’, and go straight into the next one. I’m going to get in as many songs I can.”
The singer explained that he usually plays for over two hours when he is on tour and that Glastonbury organisers initially offered him only 75 minutes for his slot – but he was able to negotiate this up to 90 minutes instead.
