Consequence revisits the unlikely rise of Once, the low-budget Irish film starring Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová that became an Oscar-winning success and later a Broadway musical. Originally published for the film’s tenth anniversary, the oral history has been republished following Hansard’s death on 29 July 2026, aged 56, highlighting his lasting influence on music and theatre.

The article recalls Hansard’s concern that the intimate film might be mishandled on stage when the musical opened Off-Broadway in 2011. To introduce its leads, Steve Kazee and Cristin Milioti, to the Irish folk traditions underpinning the story, he took them to a private musical gathering at a Manhattan pub, where they joined musicians in performing folk songs.