Bono (pictured with his wife, Ali) and Edge of U2 performed the opening track from their Songs of Experience album live for the first time at the service held for Dave Kavanagh, in Dublin today.

The funeral of the music biz impresario – who was U2’s first booking agent – took place in the church on Haddington Road, on the south side of the city, this morning. Towards the end of the funeral, Bono and Edge stepped up to sing a song. They chose one that had never been performed in public before.

Singing and playing on an emotional occasion of this kind is not easy. But the U2 men delivered a heart-rending version of the song, which inspired a huge round of applause, in the packed church. “It was amazing,” long time friend of Bono, songwriter Simon Carmody said afterwards. “First ever performance of ‘Love Is All We Have Left’. Punky energy. Bono looking for the notes and finding them. Dave would have loved it.”

It was surely a moment of magic, and it captured the spirit of the occasion – combining great sadness with the desire to celebrate a life lived to the full. Outside the church, stories were shared of wildness, wit and good times. Which is the way it should be.

Time keeps marching on. Better, as the greatVan Morrison said, to “enjoy it while we can…”

It will steal away from us in the end.