Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter, dies in Dublin motorcycle crash
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin expressed deep sorrow over Hansard’s death.
Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin today (29 July), his management company said. He was 56.
ATC Management said Hansard's family was "deeply shocked and heartbroken" by his death.
Irish police said a man in his 50s died in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Lucan, on the outskirts of Dublin, before 4:30am today. The man was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
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Hansard was known for combining acting and music throughout his career. He gained international recognition after playing a member of a Dublin soul band in the 1991 film The Commitments. In 2008, he won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly" from the film Once, in which he starred alongside Markéta Irglová.
He was the longtime frontman of rock band The Frames and was also part of the folk-rock duo The Swell Season. His solo album Didn't He Ramble earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album in 2016.
For years, Hansard led the Christmas Eve charity busk outside Dublin's Gaiety Theatre, where musicians performed to raise funds for the Dublin Simon Community.
At the 2023 funeral of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, Hansard performed "Fairytale of New York" with Irish singer Lisa O'Neill, prompting mourners to dance in the church aisles.
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin expressed deep sorrow over Hansard's death, describing him as a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland's cultural life.
