# Musician Glen Hansard’s Dublin roots detailed after fatal crash

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/glen-hansard-oscar-winning-once-singer-songwriter-dies-in-motorcycle-crash-at-56/
- Published: 2026-07-29T15:02:16+00:00
- Updated: 2026-07-29T21:14:12+00:00
- Original publisher: Billboard
- Original article: https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/glen-hansard-death-oscar-winning-once-singer-dies-obituary-1236305047/
- Topics: Music

## Key points

- Musician Glen Hansard died aged 56 in a Dublin motorcycle crash.
- He won an Oscar for "Falling Slowly" from the film Once.
- Career spanned The Frames, Swell Season and a Tony-winning musical.

## Summary

Glen Hansard, the Irish singer-songwriter behind The Frames and Swell Season, has died at the age of 56 following a motorcycle crash near his home in Dublin. His management agency, ATC, confirmed the death in a statement, saying the family was still "dealing with the shock of it all" and asking for privacy, while Irish police said a man in his 50s died in a single-vehicle collision in Lucan, Dublin, at around 4:30am on Wednesday 29 July. Hansard was best known for winning the Oscar for best original song for "Falling Slowly", from the 2007 film Once, a tribute that has drawn attention to a songwriting career spanning more than four decades.

Born Glen James Angus Hansard in the Dublin suburb of Ballymun on 21 April 1970, he left school at 13 to busk before being signed by Island Records, where he formed The Frames and released albums including 1992's Another Love Song, 1999's Dance with the Devil and 2002's Breadcrumb Trail. He also appeared in the 1991 film The Commitments, and in 2006 formed Swell Season with Czech singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová, with whom he starred in and wrote the songs for Once; the pair's Oscar-winning ballad "Falling Slowly" later featured in a Broadway adaptation that won eight Tony Awards in 2012, including best musical.

## Coverage

- [Billboard: Musician Glen Hansard’s Dublin roots detailed after fatal crash](https://www.billboard.com/music/rock/glen-hansard-death-oscar-winning-once-singer-dies-obituary-1236305047/)
- [Fox News: Oscar-winning singer Glen Hansard dead at 56](https://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/oscar-winning-singer-glen-hansard-dead-56)

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.