Glen Hansard dies at 56 in Dublin motorbike crash

Irish musician Glen Hansard, who won an Oscar for „Falling Slowly” from the film „Once”, died in a motorbike crash near Dublin on Wednesday, July 29, his management company ATC Management announced. He was 56.

It is with broken hearts that we announce that Glen Hansard passed away in the early hours of this morning.

That was the whole of the official statement. The circumstances came from the police.

What happened on the R109

An Garda Síochána, the Irish police, said the crash happened before 4.30am on the R109 Lower Road, in the Strawberry Beds area near Lucan on Dublin’s western edge, between Tinkers Hill and Rugged Lane. It was a single vehicle collision. The motorbike left the road while Hansard was travelling west.

The motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Gardaí have appealed for witnesses and asked drivers who used that stretch of road overnight to hand over dashcam footage. Irish media reported that Hansard had spent Tuesday evening at a traditional music session in the Wren’s Nest pub, two to three kilometres from the crash site.

From „The Commitments” to the Academy Awards

Hansard was born in Dublin in 1970 and grew up in Ballymun. He formed The Frames in the late 1980s and fronted the band for decades. His acting debut came in 1991, playing Outspan Foster in „The Commitments”.

• he formed the duo The Swell Season with Markéta Irglová
• the two wrote the music for „Once” in 2007, with Hansard in the lead role
• he won the 2008 Oscar for Best Original Song for „Falling Slowly”
• the Broadway version of „Once” ran from 2012 to 2015 and took eight Tony Awards
• he released five solo albums, and „Didn’t He Ramble” earned a Grammy nomination for best folk album

Few Irish musicians of that generation hold both an Academy Award and eight Tonys, and fewer still kept playing pub sessions a couple of kilometres from their own front door.

Why Dublin remembers him beyond the music

For years Hansard ran a Christmas Eve charity busk outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin, raising money for homeless services. He was not a guest at it, he ran it. Dublin Simon Community, the homelessness charity, said in its tribute:

While known to many as a genius songwriter and storyteller, for us, he was threefold that, in his generosity, as a true advocate of our work and a giant in the fight against homelessness.

The same city heard him sing at Shane MacGowan’s funeral in 2023.

The tributes

Taoiseach Micheál Martin wrote that he was deeply saddened, calling Hansard a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland’s cultural landscape. President Catherine Connolly said he would be remembered for the generosity with which he shared his fame, encouraging younger musicians, and that he would be sorely missed by all who knew him or experienced his work. Former president Michael D. Higgins described him as a troubadour whose gift for storytelling brought so much joy to audiences, while Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald called him a sublime talent and one of Ireland’s most significant musicians.

Bruce Springsteen posted a short tribute:

He was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing.

Bono wrote the lines that Irish outlets put in their headlines:

Sometimes I would wonder if Glen Hansard really existed. Seriously, he was such an angelic presence.

For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case.

Musician and producer Finneas O’Connell said Hansard’s songs made him want to write songs and also made him cry, adding that he was a heartbroken fan.

A book of condolence at the Mansion House

Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron announced a book of condolence at the Mansion House, open on Thursday and Friday from 10am to 4pm, with an online version on the city council website. Hansard is survived by his wife, the Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, and their three-year-old son. He divided his time between a house in County Kildare and Helsinki.