Gary Lightbody reflects on the moment Bono met his late father

With COVID-19 dramatically altering family life, Snow Patrol frontman Gary Lightbody has shared the touching story of how his late father came to meet Bono.

Reflecting on Snow Patrol's huge Ward Park 3 gig in Bangor in May 2019, Lightbody wrote to his Instagram followers about sharing a stage with the legendary U2 rocker.

"At this time and on this date exactly one year ago we walked on stage at Ward Park 3. About an hour later Bono would walk on stage and sing 'One' with us (and what a moment that was!)," he posted.

Those at the show reported it was in tribute to the relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic.

Earlier the crowd had enjoyed laudable performances from Foy Vance, Two Door Cinema Club and Ash among others.

As well as joining Snow Patrol onstage, Bono spotted Lightbody's dad at the side of the stage.

"Unbeknownst to me, as we were onstage at the time, Bono took time to meet my dad and chat to him. To that point my mum and dad had come to nearly every show we ever did in Northern Ireland and many Republic of Ireland shows too."

"I didn’t know it then but this would be the last time my dad would be at one of our shows," Lightbody added.

"He was side of stage as he had trouble getting around but the rest of my family were out front in the audience. And because he was side of stage he was there when Bono arrived and so met him while the rest of my family didn’t. And boy did he enjoy telling everyone that he met Bono and no one else did. Ha."

"As I understand from people that were nearby Bono asked ‘Is that Gary’s dad?’ and when told it was he went straight over and chatted to him for a good while. That’s the type of gentleman Bono is. It meant so much to my dad and there aren’t really sufficient words to describe how grateful I am to him for it," the singer wrote.

"Ward Park 3 was one of the best days of my life and I’m so glad my dad and mum were there to see it. But as my dad was fond of saying afterwards, only he got to meet Bono!"

Read the full post from Gary Lightbody below:

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