Oscar-winning songwriter Glen Hansard killed in crash
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- Glen Hansard, 56, was killed in a single-vehicle motorbike crash on Lower Road in Lucan, west of Dublin, with emergency services called shortly before 04:30 local time.
- Hansard won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "Falling Slowly," which he wrote for the low-budget 2007 film Once.
- The Frames frontman had been born in Dublin in 1970 and busked on its streets before landing the role of Outspan Foster in the 1991 film The Commitments.
- Hansard was one half of the rock duo The Swell Season and released solo albums including Didn't He Ramble, which earned a Grammy nomination for Best Folk Album in 2016.
- Police are appealing for witnesses to the crash, and Hansard is survived by a three-year-old son.
Why it matters: Hansard's death at 56 removes a singular figure from Irish music whose Oscar-winning "Falling Slowly" and work with The Frames and The Swell Season gave the Dublin scene global visibility; the single-vehicle crash on Lower Road in Lucan remains under police investigation with witnesses still being sought.
