Photo: Glen Hansard’s wicker coffin. | Glen James Angus Hansard (April 21, 1970 – July 29, 2026) was an Irish singer-songwriter and actor. From Ballymun in northern Dublin, he busked from his teens. In 1990, he co-founded the Irish rock band the Frames, which he fronted. The band released six studio albums, four of which reached the top ten of the Irish Album Charts. Hansard was also a member of the folk rock duo the Swell Season, founded 2005, which released three albums. In 2012, he released his debut solo album, Rhythm and Repose. His second album, Didn’t He Ramble (2015), was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album.
Primarily a musician, Hansard also acted and wrote music for film. He appeared in the BAFTA-winning comedy-drama The Commitments (1991) and the Golden Globe–nominated romantic drama Cyrano (2021). Hansard starred in the musical drama Once (2007), which earned awards including the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly”, with Markéta Irglová. It was adapted into the stage musical Once.
Hansard married Finnish poet Maire Saaritsa in 2022; they had a son the same year, and lived in Celbridge near Dublin and in Helsinki.
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Death
After performing at a traditional music session in The Wren’s Nest pub in Chapelizod on July 28, 2026, Hansard died in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in the Strawberry Beds area of Dublin in the early hours of 29 July, aged 56.
The Lord Mayor of Dublin opened a book of condolence at Dublin’s Mansion House for Hansard on July 30, with other books opened in Temple Bar and Naas, County Kildare, where large numbers queued to sign. A public wake was held on August 3 in the Baroque Chapel at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Kilmainham, Dublin, and was attended by more than 11,000 people. Hansard’s funeral was held the following day at St Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, where the service was livestreamed online, with large screens set up outside the cathedral. Musical tributes were performed by Eddie Vedder, Lisa O’Neill, Markéta Irglová, and his older brother Gary, among others. Speakers included his wife and his younger brother Richard. The ceremony ended with a group rendition of Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young” performed by Hansard’s friends and collaborators. A private cremation service followed at Mount Jerome in Harold’s Cross.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glen_Hansard
OTHER NOTABLE MUSICIANS’ DEATHS
Warning Signs of Suicide – National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or if you want to discuss, call the old numbers at 800-273-TALK or 800-273-8255 for English and 888-628-9454 for Spanish. Learn the signs of someone who may be contemplating suicide.
Posting for my Veteran/singer/songwriter/musician friend Troy Hoss: Heavy on my heart so here goes: This is a very real problem … 22 Veterans a day surrender to their demons. #SuicideAwareness | Call Veteran’s Hotline: 988 #1 or 844-647-1354
From Care2 via Jock Bartley on Facebook: Trump shut down our LGBTQ+ suicide and mental health hotline, but CANADA opened a US toll-free number to theirs… so our citizens can get help anytime, at no cost: 1-877-330-6366
Kindness & empathy have no borders.
If you want to know more about any of the musicians we lost, find them at http://www.wikipedia.com
August 2026
5: Bruno Battisti D’Amario, 88, Italian classical guitarist and composer; Peter Lai, 76, Hong Kong lyricist and actor (Old Time Buddy, Come Home Love: Lo and Behold), complications from a stroke.
4: Bruno Campanella, 83, Italian conductor (Teatro Regio di Torino); Pepe Habichuela, 81, Spanish flamenco guitarist; Tristam Nada, 68, French singer and painter.
3: John Douglas, 63, Scottish musician (Trashcan Sinatras) and songwriter (“Obscurity Knocks”, “Only Tongue Can Tell”); Jean-Paul Dréau, 73, French composer and songwriter;
2: David Z, 78, American record producer (“She Drives Me Crazy”, “Looking for a New Love”) and musician (Lipps Inc.); Bagre Fagundes, 86, Brazilian gaucho musician.
July 2026
31: Glenn A. Baker, 74, Australian rock music journalist (Billboard), commentator and broadcaster, complications from a stroke; Jeff Conolly, 69, American rock musician (Lyres, DMZ); Pepe Villalobos, 96, Peruvian musician and composer.
30: K. Jamuna Rani, 88, Indian playback singer (Valayapathi, Gulebakavali, Seda Sulang); Igor Sharapov [ru], 65, Russian trumpeter, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation (2011); Gunnar Þórðarson, 81, Icelandic musician and songwriter.
29: Glen Hansard, 56, Irish musician (The Frames), songwriter (“Falling Slowly”), and actor (Once), Oscar winner (2008), traffic collision; Javier Martín del Campo, 75, Mexican musician (La Revolución de Emiliano Zapata); Arlene Smith, 84, American singer (The Chantels).
