Summary
- Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, acclaimed for his work with The Frames and his Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly, has died following a motorbike accident in Dublin.
- Their duet Falling Slowly won the Oscar for Best Original Song the following year and later formed the backbone of a Broadway musical that earned eight Tony Awards.
- You made your dreams come true.” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called Hansard “a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland’s cultural landscape.” Hansard leaves behind his partner and their young son.
Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, acclaimed for his work with The Frames and his Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly, has died following a motorbike accident in Dublin. He was 56.
Emergency services were called to Lower Road in Lucan shortly before dawn on Wednesday. Police confirmed the crash involved only Hansard’s vehicle and appealed for witnesses. His management, ATC, said his family was “heartbroken” and asked for privacy.
Hansard’s career began on Dublin’s streets as a busker before he appeared in Alan Parker’s The Commitments in 1991. A year earlier he had founded The Frames, a band that became a cornerstone of Ireland’s rock scene. His international breakthrough came with Once, the 2007 film in which he starred alongside Czech musician Markéta Irglová. Their duet Falling Slowly won the Oscar for Best Original Song the following year and later formed the backbone of a Broadway musical that earned eight Tony Awards.
Beyond his collaborations with Irglová in The Swell Season, Hansard released solo records including Didn’t He Ramble, which earned a Grammy nomination in 2016. He also became a familiar face on Irish television as the original presenter of RTÉ’s Other Voices.
Hansard was widely admired for his charity work, particularly the Christmas Eve busk he launched in Dublin in 2010 to support the Simon Community. The annual event drew stars such as Bono, Sinéad O’Connor and Shane MacGowan. The charity described him as “a giant in the fight against homelessness” and said his compassion would remain part of his legacy.
Tributes poured in from fellow artists and public figures. Actor Chris O’Dowd wrote: “He did that. And he leaves it with us. Thanks Glen.” Musician Mike Scott of The Waterboys added: “Travel on well, Buddy. You made your dreams come true.” Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin called Hansard “a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland’s cultural landscape.”
Hansard leaves behind his partner and their young son. In a recent interview he reflected on fatherhood, saying it had “upturned everything I know” and brought him to “a very different place than I’ve ever been before.”
