Oscar-winning Irish musician and activist Glen Hansard dies in motorcycle crash

See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source Published: 07:14 EDT, 29 July 2026 | Updated: 07:20 EDT, 29 July 2026 Oscar-winning Irish musician and activist Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin in the early hours of Wednesday, sources said.He won a Best Original Song Oscar in 2008 for the indie film Once and was lead singer for rock group the Frames. Irish police said a man in his 50s had died after a single-vehicle motorcycle collision in the west of Dublin.Emergency services were alerted shortly before 4:30am.The man was pronounced dead a short time after being treated at the scene.Newstalk Radio and the Irish Independent reported that Hansard, 56, died in the crash.A representative for Hansard did not immediately respond to a request for comment.The musician won the Academy Award for his song Falling Slowly in 2008. Glen Hansard is seen performing his song Falling Slowly during the 80th annual Academy Awards in Hollywood on February 24 2008Dublin-born Hansard was previously in a relationship with Markéta Irglová, who co-starred with him in Once and co-wrote the Oscar-winning track.He was later involved with poet Maire Saaritsa, who gave birth to their son Christy in October 2022. Hansard 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.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.At 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.This is a breaking news story. More to follow...