Glen Hansard, Oscar-Winning Singer Behind "Falling Slowly," Dies at 56 in Motorcycle Crash
Glen Hansard, the Irish singer-songwriter who won an Academy Award for "Falling Slowly" and starred in the 2007 film "Once," died early Wednesday morning after a motorcycle crash outside Dublin. He was 56.
Irish police said a man in his 50s died in a single-vehicle motorcycle collision in Lucan, on the western outskirts of Dublin, before 4:30 a.m. The rider was treated at the scene but pronounced dead shortly after. According to the Irish Times, Hansard had spent time earlier that night at the Wren's Nest pub on Lower Road, where he regularly joined a weekly traditional music session; that night's gathering had been billed as a celebration of the Mayo footballers' All-Ireland final win days earlier.
Hansard's management, ATC Management, confirmed his death in a statement to Irish broadcaster RTÉ: "With broken hearts we announce the passing of Glen Hansard who passed away, in the early hours of this morning, following a road-traffic accident in Dublin. Glen's family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss and respectfully requests privacy at this extremely difficult time."
Hansard first drew wider attention playing a member of a Dublin soul band in the 1991 film "The Commitments," years into a music career that began with busking on Dublin's streets as a teenager before he formed the rock band The Frames in 1990. His defining moment came in 2007 with "Once," a low-budget Irish film in which Hansard starred alongside Czech musician Markéta Irglová as two struggling musicians who fall for each other while writing songs together. Their duet "Falling Slowly" won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008; accepting the award from presenter John Travolta, a visibly stunned Hansard said, "What are we doing here? This is mad." The film was later adapted into a Broadway musical that won eight Tony Awards in 2012, including Best Musical.
Hansard continued recording as a solo artist and as one half of The Swell Season with Irglová, while remaining a fixture of Dublin's live music scene. He performed alongside Bruce Springsteen on multiple occasions, including a 2013 rendition of "Drive All Night" at Kilkenny's Nowlan Park, and led a widely shared tribute performance of The Pogues' "Fairytale of New York" at Shane MacGowan's 2023 funeral.
Tributes arrived quickly from across Ireland's cultural and political spheres. Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin wrote that he was "deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Glen Hansard," calling him "a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland's cultural landscape over many years." Springsteen posted on Instagram that he was "heartbroken" over the loss of "a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man." Rachel Zegler, who joined Hansard onstage for "Falling Slowly" during a sold-out April show at New York's Bowery Ballroom, wrote: "Oh I will love you forever."
Hansard is survived by his wife, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, and their 3-year-old son, Christy. Irish police have asked for witnesses to the crash to come forward.
