Members of the public queued up to sign a book of condolence at the Mansion House in Dublin on Thursday, paying tearful respects to Irish folk musician Glen Hansard, who died in a motorbike crash in the city.
Tributes and Condolences
Hansard, 56, from Ballymun, was the frontman of Irish band The Frames, featured in the film The Commitments, and won an Oscar for best original song for Falling Slowly in 2008. Tributes poured in from Bruce Springsteen, U2, Bob Geldof, Ed Sheeran, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Billie Eilish after news of his death emerged. Springsteen said Hansard was “a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man”, while U2 frontman Bono described him as an “angelic presence” and a “smiling rascal”.
Damien Dempsey called Hansard the “Ballymun Bard” and “one of the finest songwriters I ever heard”. “When you ripped into a song you’d rip the roof off the venue and rip your heart out of your chest and hand it to us,” he said. “A monumental power and a monumental loss.”
Musical Legacy and Advocacy
Hansard began an annual Christmas Eve charity busk outside the Gaiety Theatre 16 years ago, drawing famous Irish musicians to perform for the homeless. He also took part in protests against Ireland’s housing crisis, a march marking three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the anti-austerity water charge protests in 2014. He died hours after a trad session at The Wren’s Nest pub, which said it was “always a privilege” to host his “incredible talent”.
Fan Reactions
Gary Carroll, a five-string banjo player, said: “He never forgot where he came from, he was with the crowd, the crowd followed him… If he seen someone struggling with a song, he’d help them out with it. That’s what music is all about.” Senator Frances Black, a former musician, said Hansard “encouraged young people to keep performing and keep playing and keep writing songs, and I think that’s what made him special.”
Helen Prendergast from Galway said she was in “shock”. “He was a good guy, he was good to the homeless, he was a decent soul,” she said. Gerry Hannigan from Raheny admired how Hansard busked on the streets and worked up to supporting Bob Dylan. Bobby Kans from Maryland, wearing a Hansard tour T-shirt, said: “His music will go on for us… It’s nice the mayor had this today.” His daughter Gigi added: “It captured the true meaning of music – you can’t just do it for the money or for the gigs, he did it because he loved it and it showed in his music.”
