Glen Hansard, Irish singer-songwriter known for 'Once' Oscar win, dies at 56

Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, champion known for starring successful the 2007 indie darling “Once” and winning an Oscar for “Falling Slowly,” the film’s archetypal opus on with co-star Markéta Irglová, has died. He was 56.

Hansard died Wednesday greeting pursuing a motorcycle clang successful Dublin, according to the Associated Press.

“With breached hearts we denote the passing of Glen Hansard successful the aboriginal hours of this morning. We are inactive dealing with the daze of it all, truthful we kindly inquire that the privateness of Glen’s family, colleagues and friends is respected astatine this hard time,” ATC Management said successful a connection to The Times connected Wednesday.

The absorption institution told the Irish Times that the “matter remains the taxable of an progressive Garda investigation.”

While making a sanction for himself successful Ireland with his set The Frames, helium besides starred successful the 1991 Alan Parker film, “The Commitments.” While the Frames ne'er officially disbanded, Hansard released albums arsenic a duo with Irglová nether the Swell Season moniker and arsenic a solo artist.

Hansard was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album successful 2026 and precocious released a unrecorded vocation retrospective medium titled, “Don’t Settle - Transmission East & West.”

He is survived by his wife, writer Maire Saaritsa and a 4-year-old son, Christy.

In an interrogation with The Times successful 2025 helium talked astir however the commencement of his lad radically shifted his perspective. “It made maine deliberation overmuch much astir staying alive,” helium said.”

This is simply a processing communicative that volition beryllium updated.