Glen Hansard, Oscar-winning Irish musician, dies at 56

Glen Hansard, the Oscar-winning Irish musician and actor who starred in “The Commitments”, died in the early hours of Wednesday, his agent ATC Management said. He was 56.

“With broken hearts we announce the passing of Glen Hansard in the early hours of this morning,” ATC Management said in a post on Hansard’s website. The agent said family and friends were “dealing with the shock of it all”, but did not state a cause of death.

Irish police said they were appealing for witnesses after a fatal single-vehicle collision in Dublin involving a motorcycle. They said the motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, was treated at the scene but pronounced dead a short time later.

Hansard, born in Ballymun, Dublin in April 1970, founded the band The Frames in 1990 and became its lead singer, guitarist and composer. He played Outspan Foster in the 1991 film “The Commitments”.

In 2007, Hansard won an Oscar with Czech musician Marketa Irglova for their co-written song “Falling Slowly” from the Irish romantic film “Once”. He also had a solo career and received several Grammy nominations.

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said he was “deeply saddened” by Hansard’s death and called him “a talented musician and actor who made a significant contribution to Ireland’s cultural landscape over many years”.