Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard, best known for the Academy Award-winning song Falling Slowly from Once, has died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin, reports Reuters.
He was 56.
Hansard’s management company confirmed that he died in the early hours of Wednesday after a road traffic accident.
Irish police said a man in his 50s died following a single-vehicle motorcycle collision in west Dublin after emergency services responded to the scene shortly before 4:30a.m.
Hansard rose to international fame after co-writing and performing Falling Slowly with Markéta Irglová for the 2007 independent film Once.
The song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008, while the film later inspired a Broadway musical that won eight Tony Awards.
Born in Dublin, Hansard began busking on the city’s streets at the age of 13 after leaving school.
He formed the rock band The Frames in 1990 and became one of Ireland’s most respected musicians.
Beyond his work with the band, he released several acclaimed solo albums and earned a Grammy nomination in 2016.
Tributes poured in from across the music world following news of his death.
Bruce Springsteen, who had shared the stage with Hansard, described him as “a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man.”
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin praised Hansard’s lasting contribution to Ireland’s cultural heritage.
Bono, the frontman of U2, remembered Hansard not only for his music but also for his humanitarian work.
He said the singer never walked past a homeless person without checking on them and praised his long-running efforts to combat homelessness in Ireland.
Hansard launched an annual Christmas Eve busking event in Dublin in 2010 that has raised more than €2 million for the Dublin Simon Community, which described him as “a giant in the fight against homelessness.”
Before Once, Hansard appeared in Alan Parker’s 1991 musical drama The Commitments.
He later continued performing worldwide with The Frames, The Swell Season, and as a solo artist.
Hansard is survived by his wife, Maire Saaritsa, and their three-year-old son, Christy.
