Irish singer and Oscar-winning Once actor Glen Hansard has died aged 56 in a motorbike accident, with his family sharing their “shock and heartbreak” over his sudden passing.
He was best known for appearing in the 2007 music drama Once, which earned him several major awards, including the Oscar for Best Original Song for Falling Slowly, co-written with co-star Markéta Irglová.
The Commitments actor was pronounced dead shortly after being treated following a single-vehicle collision in Lucan, Dublin, at around 4.30am on Wednesday morning.
He is survived by his wife, Finnish poet Maire Saairtsa, and their three-year-old son, Christy. Hansard and Saairtsa married in 2022, with Hansard revealing his mother’s death in 2020 prompted him to propose.
“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,” his family said in a moving statement.
“Glen's family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss and respectfully requests privacy at this extremely difficult time.”
The scene of his motorcyle crash in the early hours of Wednesday morning in DublinPAThe statement went on: “The family is grateful for the support they have received and wishes to thank the emergency services who attended the scene.
“As this matter remains the subject of an active Garda investigation, no further comment will be made at this time.”
Gardai have launched an investigation into the crash and Forensic Collision Investigators this morning preserved the scene for examination.
Hansard and his family split their time between Ireland and his wife's native Helsinki in Finland.
Hansard with co-star Marketa Irglova in the 2007 film Once Speaking about becoming a first-time dad at 52, Hansard told the Sunday World: “It’s the most incredible thing that has ever happened to me.
“You would imagine anyone would say that…that’s exactly how it feels, it’s the most abstract and beautiful. Suddenly you realise that everything is secondary, one’s life, one’s career, one’s thoughts.
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“I’m not the most important person in my own life anymore… that’s a very natural thing, one day I was and the next day I wasn’t.”
The Dublin-born singer was known as the frontman of the Irish rock band the Frames, but also enjoyed huge success as a solo star.
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.
His first brush with fame came when he played guitarist Outspan Foster in director Alan Parker’s Irish movie smash The Commitments.
He then appeared in the low-budget cult hit film Once, playing a Dublin busker who connects with a Czech immigrant, played by Irglová, through music.
Once was turned into a musical in 2012 and enjoyed huge success at Broadway - scooping eight Tony Awards - and at the West End.
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.
Hansard and Mick McLoughlin taking part in the annual Christmas Eve busk in Dublin in 2025PAAt 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.
Hansard had a number of upcoming tour dates in London, Norway and Sweden.
He was then due to perform a slew of shows in Ireland in October, with dates in Cork, Limerick, Killarney, Sligo, Galway, and Belfast.