Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish singer and homelessness activist, dies in Dublin motorcycle crash at 56
The Frames frontman and Once star died Wednesday following a single-vehicle collision near Strawberry Beds in Dublin's Lucan. His Christmas Eve charity busk raised more than €2 million.
Glen Hansard, the Academy Award-winning singer-songwriter who fronted The Frames and starred in the film Once, died Wednesday in Dublin at the age of 56.
The crash
Hansard died following a single-vehicle motorcycle collision near Strawberry Beds in Dublin's Lucan on Wednesday morning. He was 56. He is survived by his wife, poet Maire Saaritsa, and his son. He had recently finished a tour across the UK and Ireland.
Music and film
Hansard led the Irish rock band The Frames and later formed the duo The Swell Season with Markéta Irglová, his co-star in John Carney's 2007 film Once. The song "Falling Slowly" from that film won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The stage adaptation of Once went on to win eight Tony Awards. Hansard's collaborators over the years included Bono, Sinéad O'Connor, Imelda May, Shane MacGowan, Dermot Kennedy, Gavin James, Róisín O, and Damien Rice.
The Christmas Eve Busk
In 2010, Hansard began organising an annual Christmas Eve charity busk on Dublin's Grafton Street in aid of the Dublin Simon Community, which provides services to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The event celebrated its 15th anniversary last year. Bono, the Edge, Sinéad O'Connor, and Shane MacGowan were among the performers who took part over the years. When crowds grew too large and the busk was moved to a stage outside the Gaiety Theatre, Hansard resisted the change.
We'll give it our best but it's not a busk if we're not on the street!
The Dublin Simon Community said the busk raised more than €2 million and brought "vital awareness" to the homelessness crisis. Hansard had been volunteering with the charity since the age of 15. At 17, he and friends tried to set up a shelter called the First Step Project.
Tributes
Bono posted a lengthy tribute on Thursday, calling Hansard "a smiling rascal if you needed him to be" and "the most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun."
He could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK... and more than that, he worked very hard so that less people had to live on the streets in the first place.
Bono added that Hansard was "a performer at eye level in any situation" and described him as the "voice of the streets." Bruce Springsteen, Cat Power, and fellow members of The Frames also paid tribute. The Dublin Simon Community said its staff and volunteers were "devastated" and called Hansard a "giant in the fight against homelessness."
Glen's talents will indeed be his legacy but so too will his commitment to social justice.
- Born in Ballymun, north Dublin.
- Begins volunteering with Dublin Simon Community at age 15.
- The Frames form; Hansard leads the band through subsequent decades.
- Stars in Once; wins Academy Award for Best Original Song with 'Falling Slowly.'
- Organises first Christmas Eve charity busk on Grafton Street.
- Christmas Eve Busk celebrates its 15th anniversary.
- Dies at age 56 following a motorcycle crash in Dublin.
