In memoriam: The Script’s Mark Sheehan

On Apr. 14, the lead guitarist of Irish rock band The Script, Mark Sheehan, passed away at the young age of 42 after a brief, undisclosed illness. This came as a sudden shock, since we haven’t heard much about The Script since last year. So, in honor of Sheehan’s tragic passing, let us look back on The Script, their successes and history.

Sheehan and lead singer Danny O’Donoghue were best friends in Dublin, Ireland, where they were part of a boy band named Mytown in 1996. The two were invited to Canada to collaborate with many of their musical heroes, including Montell Jordan of “This Is How We Do It” fame. The pair went on to sign with an unnamed record label, but the company unfortunately split and dropped them. After, O’Donoghue and Sheehan went to Los Angeles to work as producers, but then went back to Dublin, where they met drummer Glen Power. The band, now named The Script, signed with Phonogenic in 2005 and released an EP on Last.fm, a music website based in the U.K.

The band released their debut album, titled “The Script,” in 2008, and the album received mixed reviews. However, there was no denial that the album had several great singles that topped the Irish charts in the aftermath. The lead single, “We Cry,” was said to be about the people that O’Donoghue had met while in Dublin, where it hit No. 13. Following the lead single was “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved.” This song was the highest-charted single to hit the charts in Ireland. But that was about to change in just four years.

On Sept. 7, 2012, after the success of the band’s second album, “Science and Faith,” The Script released their third album, called “3.” Surprisingly, the album received generally negative reviews upon release; however, its saving grace was the lead single, titled “Hall of Fame.”

Collaborating with Black Eyed Peas member will.i.am, O'Donoghue wrote the song in an hour and a half in the studio. The single focuses on perseverance and making a difference. It was released on Aug. 20, 2012 and was considered a massive success in Ireland, taking “The Man Who Can’t Be Moved” off the top spot on the Irish charts. The single was what brought The Script to the spotlight in the Irish music world, as well as the music world in general The Script then kicked off the postseason of Major League Baseball by performing a free concert and then went on tour to promote their album.

After their fourth studio album, “No Sound Without Silence,” was released in 2014, the band went on hiatus. There were conflicting reasons as to why. One reason was O’Donoghue and the band needed time to “chill” after releasing four albums and going on five world tours. But an announcement stated that O’Donoghue needed throat surgery.

The band returned in late 2016 and made new music. They went on to release two more albums: “Freedom Child” in 2017 and “Sunsets and Full Moons” in 2019. The band also released a compilation album in 2021 of their greatest hits from all of their albums since 2008.

The Script went on to win several awards as a group, including several from the BMI Pop Awards in 2011, 2012 and 2014.

Overall, The Script is one of the most popular bands to come out of Ireland. Hopefully the band will find another guitarist to replace Sheehan. May he rest in peace.