Oscar-winning Irish musician Glen Hansard dies in Dublin motorcycle crash
Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning singer-songwriter and actor, died at age 56 after a single-vehicle motorcycle collision in Dublin on July 29, prompting tributes from fellow musicians and the Irish president.
Irish police confirmed that a man in his fifties died in the early hours of Wednesday, July 29, following a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in the western part of Dublin. Emergency services arrived shortly before 4:30 a.m., and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are seeking witnesses.
Hansard’s management company ATC issued a statement expressing shock and requesting privacy for the musician’s family, colleagues and friends.
Born in Dublin in 1970, Hansard won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 for “Falling Slowly,” which he co-wrote and performed in the film Once. He also acted in the movie and later toured with artists such as Bob Dylan and Eddie Vedder. His most recent solo album, All That Was East is West of Me Now, was released in 2023, and he and former partner Markéta Irglová’s duo The Swell Season issued Forward in July 2025.
“We are heartbroken over the death of Glen Hansard,” Bruce Springsteen wrote on Instagram, adding that Hansard was “always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man.”
Ireland’s president, Catherine Connolly, said Hansard would be remembered as a leading singer-songwriter who inspired a generation of musicians and was noted for his generosity, including annual charity busking events.
Hansard is survived by his wife, Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa, and their three-year-old son, Christy.