Freyne pays tribute to the The Frames frontman and Oscar winner Listen | 20:20Glen Hansard died in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin. He was 56. He was one of Ireland’s most well-known musicians who leaves behind an incredible musical legacy from a career that took him from being a teenage busker on Grafton Street to winning an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly. A lifelong activist, he was also a husband to Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa and a father to three-year-old Christy.Irish Times writer Patrick Freyne once played in a band and they supported Hansard’s first band The Frames in the early 1990s.Freyne traces Hansard’s career; talks about his ability to bring musicians together, his deep well of charisma and why he thinks the Dublin man had become the unofficial national bard.Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Glen Hansard whose death was announced on Wednesday. Wed Jul 29 2026 - 18:28Glen Hansard died in the early hours of Wednesday morning in a motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin. He was 56. He was one of Ireland’s most well-known musicians who leaves behind an incredible musical legacy from a career that took him from being a teenage busker on Grafton Street to winning an Oscar for the song Falling Slowly. A lifelong activist, he was also a husband to Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa and a father to four-year-old Christy. Irish Times writer Patrick Freyne once played in a band and they supported Hansard’s first band The Frames in the early 1990s. Freyne traces Hansard’s career; talks about his ability to bring musicians together, his deep well of charisma and why he thinks the Dublin man had become the unofficial national bard. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Aideen Finnegan.Bernice HarrisonBernice Harrison is an Irish Times journalist and cohost of In the News podcast