Irish musician Glen Hansard, who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for the film Once, has died aged 56. His management company confirmed he died in the early hours of the morning following a road traffic accident in Dublin, describing the family as "deeply shocked and heartbroken" and requesting privacy.

Local police are appealing for witnesses after the crash, which has been described as a single-vehicle collision, according to the BBC. Hansard began his career busking on the streets of Dublin before forming the rock band The Frames in 1990, and later formed The Swell Season with his Once co-star Marketa Irglova; their song Falling Slowly won the Oscar, and Once was later adapted into a Broadway musical that won eight Tony Awards in 2012. Ireland's Taoiseach Micheál Martin paid tribute, calling Hansard "a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland's cultural landscape."