Mark Sheehan, guitarist for the Irish rock band The Script, has died after a “brief illness,” the band said on Friday. He was 46.
Sheehan was a founding member of the popular band, which started in Dublin in 2001. In a statement, the band called him a “much loved husband, father, brother, band mate and friend.”
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. pic.twitter.com/6HaShCk8l4
— the script (@thescript) April 14, 2023
The Script — known for its hits “Hall of Fame,” “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved,” and “Breakeven” — featured singer Danny O’Donoghue, Glen Power on the drums, and guitarist Sheehan. The Irish band topped charts in the U.K. with its debut album in 2008. During the 2010s, The Script continued its success, going on to have six top 10 albums in the U.K. and one placed in the top three albums in the U.S. The band ended up selling over 29 million records worldwide.
Sheehan grew up in inner-city Dublin and lost his father when he was just 14, according to The Irish Times. In 2006, after The Script members signed their record deal and were preparing to record their debut album, Sheehan’s mother had a stroke.
“She was in the hospital for 10 months and that is what brought me back to Dublin,” Sheehan said. “The lads came back with me. I had a small studio, more like a shed, at the back of the James Street house where I grew up. It was right next to the hospital so I was able to go in and do night shifts with my mum, write lyrics and then come home and write and record more.”
Sheehan’s mother died within the year, and the guitarist helped write the band’s early hits shortly after.
After The Script signed its record deal in 2008, Sheehan told The Irish Times, “I remember going through Dublin Airport and seeing a rolling news ticker and it had something about an Irish boyband [signing] a record-breaking deal. And I was like, ‘Oh man, we’re really setting ourselves up here.’”
Sheehan didn’t just dwell on the immediate fame, however. He helped the band write its albums “Science & Faith” (2010), “No Sound Without Silence” (2014), “Freedom Child” (2017), and its final album “Sunsets & Full Moons” (2019).
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“What I’ve learned out of that whole experience was to take nothing for granted and to always keep your business head on,” Sheehan said. “We’re in this because we love music, but you have to have an awareness of the commercial side of things as well.”
Sheehan is survived by his wife Rina and their three children.