Oscar-winning songwriter Glen Hansard dies in Dublin crash at 56
Why it matters: Hansard helped define modern Irish music through The Frames, Once and a long-running homeless charity busk.
Glen Hansard, the Irish musician who won an Oscar for co-writing "Falling Slowly," died in a single-vehicle motorbike crash in Dublin, according to BBC reporting. He was 56. Emergency services were called shortly before 4:30 a.m. local time to Lower Road in Lucan, west of Dublin, and police appealed for witnesses. Hansard led the rock band The Frames, appeared in Alan Parker's 1991 film "The Commitments," and later formed The Swell Season. He won the Academy Award for best original song in 2008 for "Falling Slowly" from the film "Once." Beyond music, he started Dublin's annual Christmas Eve charity busk in 2010 to support Dublin Simon Community's work with homeless people.