Glen Hansard dies: Oscar-winning musician and frontman of The Frames killed in crash
The 56-year-old, who featured in The Commitments, was best known for his Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly in 2007.
Oscar-winning Irish musician and activist Glen Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.
Hansard, 56, was the frontman for the Irish band The Frames, featured in the Irish film The Commitments and won an Academy Award for best original song for Falling Slowly in 2007, which he co-wrote with Marketa Irglova for the movie Once.
He was one half of the rock duo The Swell Season, and released solo albums including Didn’t He Ramble, which was nominated for a Grammy for best folk album in 2016.
Sign up to The Nightly's newsletters.
Get the first look at the digital newspaper, curated daily stories and breaking headlines delivered to your inbox.
By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.For years he led the Christmas Eve charity busk outside The Gaeity Theatre in Dublin city, where members of the public gathered to see famous Irish musicians perform in aid of the Dublin Simon Community.
He also took part in protests against Ireland’s housing crisis, a march to mark three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the anti-austerity water charge protests in 2014.
At the funeral of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan in 2023, Hansard performed Fairytale of New York with Irish singer Lisa O’Neill, which prompted dancing in the aisles of the Co Tipperary church.
He is the father of a three-year-old boy, Christy.
Irish police said a man in his 50s died in single-vehicle motorcycle crash in Lucan on the outskirts of the Irish capital early on Wednesday.
The man, who they did not name, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.
