Glen Hansard, the singer-songwriter who achieved international fame starring in the 2007 drama Once and fronted the rock band the Frames and the duo Swell Season, died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin on Wednesday. Gardaí and emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 4.30 a.m. after receiving reports of a single vehicle collision. ATC Management, which represented him, confirmed the news. He was 56.
“Glen’s family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss and respectfully requests privacy at this extremely difficult time,” a statement reads. “The family is grateful for the support they have received and wishes to thank the emergency services who attended the scene. As this matter remains the subject of an active Garda investigation, no further comment will be made at this time.”
The singer-songwriter won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly,” which he wrote and performed in Once alongside his co-star and former partner Markéta Irglová. The film told the story of a “guy” (Hansard) and a “girl” (Irglová); the guy is a busker who falls in love with the girl, a Czech pianist, and the couple write and perform songs that tell their love story over the course of a week in Dublin. Hansard’s onetime Frames bandmate, John Carney, wrote and directed the picture. The movie was later developed into a Broadway musical, which won eight Tony awards.
“We just couldn’t believe it kept on winning all those awards,” Hansard told Rolling Stone in 2012. “After the ceremony, I was so floored and blown away by the whole thing that I went and took a 40-block walk, just to clear my head.”
The role of a busker wasn’t difficult for Hansard, who was born in Dublin on April 21, 1970, since he’d begun his career singing in the Irish capital’s streets as a teenager. He had a difficult upbringing as he characterized his father as a violent alcoholic, but he found solace in playing a guitar his uncle had left behind when he had to serve time in prison, according to The New York Times. He drew inspiration from Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen, and Van Morrison. He would later campaign to raise awareness for homelessness and the housing crisis in Dublin, performing at the Christmas Eve Busk benefit concert to help people at risk.
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The Frames came together in 1990 but Hansard first came to wider attention a year later when he appeared in Alan Parker’s film, The Commitments, as guitarist Outspan Foster. The movie, a musical comedy, told the story of a soul-music band that formed in Ireland.
The Frames released their debut LP, Another Love Song, in 1991, and it was a minor hit in Ireland. Subsequent albums fared better, and their 2001 album, For the Birds, became their breakthrough. Both the 2003 live album, Set List, and the studio album, Burn the Maps, released in 2004, charted at Number One in the country and helped them to establish a following outside of the Emerald Isle. Their 2006 album, The Cost, registered on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart.
It was 2007’s Once that proved to be one of Hansard’s most beloved and enduring works. The film grossed $23 million worldwide. Hansard and Irglová had been performing together as a duo called the Swell Season since 2005. On again and off again, they began playing together again in 2022 and released three albums overall. Strict Joy, released in 2009, made it up to Number 15 in the U.S.
The success occasionally felt burdensome for Hansard as an artist. “Once was a wonderful, wonderful chapter in my career, and in my life, but it also kind of designated me as the folky guy,” he told Rolling Stone in 2019. “If you look at my career before Once, the music was quite different. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life regurgitating that incredible moment. I’m still behind every song on the Once record, 100 percent, but it doesn’t mean that I’m restricted to being that guy.” He released his first solo album, Rhythm and Repose in, in 2012.
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In 2022, he announced the birth of his son, Christy, with his partner, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa. Paying tribute, the Waterboys’ Mike Scott said: “Just heard that Glen Hansard has died. Travel on well, Buddy. You made your dreams come true. I’m so sorry that he leaves his wife and 3-year-old child.”
Hansard was also admired by artists such as Joni Mitchell and Bruce Springsteen, memorably performing with the latter on a live cover of “Drive All Night” at Kilkenny’s Downlan Park in 2013. He also performed “Fairytale Of New York” alongside Lisa O’Neill at Shane MacGowan’s funeral in December 2023.
“Here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Glen Hansard,” Springsteen wrote in a statement. “We met in Ireland many years ago and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones.”
Ireland’s prime minister, Micheál Martin, paid his respects on social media, calling Hansard “a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland’s cultural landscape over many years.”
Hansard, who received a Grammy nomination for his 2015 solo album, Didn’t He Ramble, stayed active in music up until his death and released the second volume of his album Don+t Settle – Transmissions East & West last month.
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In 2018, Hansard told Rolling Stone that what kept him motivated was doing new things. “The biggest fear an artist has is stagnation and repetition,” he said. “The older I get the more I realize I don’t know a fucking thing. And what a joy to be able to really own that.”
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