In Memoriam
Finneas, Cat Power, Rachel Zegler, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Warren Ellis remember the Irish musician who died Wednesday
Tributes from across the globe are pouring in for Glen Hansard. The beloved singer-songwriter died in a motorcycle accident in Dublin on Wednesday, July 29. He was 56. Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Wilco’s Nels Cline, Ed Sheeran, Rachel Zegler, Finneas, and many more took to their social media accounts to sing his praises following his sudden and tragic death.
Hansard was an Irish singer-songwriter who achieved international fame in the 2007 movie Once, where he wrote and performed “Falling Slowly” alongside his costar Markéta Irglová; the song won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. The duo performed as the Swell Season, recently reuniting in 2025 for their first album in 16 years. He also founded the highly influential Irish rock band the Frames in 1990.
U2’s Bono penned a moving tribute to Hansard, commending his contributions to busking and street performing. “[Glen] was such an angelic presence,” he wrote on U2’s Instagram. “A smiling rascal if you needed him to be… this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun… no airs, plenty of graces…”
