Glen Hansard

Biography

Glen James Hansard (21 April 1970 – 29 July 2026) was an Irish musician. From Ballymun in northern Dublin, he busked from his teens. In 1990, he co-founded the Irish rock band the Frames, which he fronted. The band released six studio albums, four of which reached the top ten of the Irish Albums Chart. Hansard was also a member of the folk rock duo the Swell Season, founded in 2005, which released three albums. In 2012, he released his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose. His second album, Didn't He Ramble (2015), was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.

Primarily a musician, Hansard also acted and wrote music for film. He appeared in the BAFTA-winning comedy-drama The Commitments (1991) and the Golden Globe–nominated romantic drama Cyrano (2021). Hansard starred in the musical drama Once (2007), which earned awards including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly", with Markéta Irglová. It was adapted into the stage musical Once.

Hansard married Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa in 2022; they had a son the same year, and lived in Celbridge near Dublin and in Helsinki. He died in a motorcycle accident at the Strawberry Beds on the outskirts of Dublin in July 2026 at the age of 56. Tributes were paid from the arts and political worlds, and a public wake was followed by a funeral at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.

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