Busker, songwriter and actor who helped keep Ireland’s culture on the world’s stage.
Irish singer-songwriter and actor Glen Hansard was killed in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in the early morning of Wednesday 29 July in West Dublin. It is always bittersweet to read the tributes after someone has died, and in Glen Hansard’s case, tributes have been flooding in from politicians, the Taoiseach, an ex-President, fellow musicians, including Bruce Springsteen, and actors, giving a true sense of the esteem in which he was held. If you read the many tributes and boil them down to get the essence of the man, what you will find is that apart from his artistic talents, he was a very honest man of the people who was about action above everything else, and someone who had made a significant contribution to modern-day Irish culture. While the Irish diaspora of the 19th and early 20th Century ensured Irish culture was dispersed to the UK, America and beyond, richly enhancing all cultures they touched, it has been a continuing surprise as to how much modern-day Irish culture continues to influence the arts across the world, given that it has a population of just over 5 million. Glen Hansard was at the heart of this with his band the Frames, his appearance in The Commitments, his solo career, and his TV and film appearances. The fact that he won both an Oscar and a Grammy shows the reach of his artistic endeavours.
He was born on 21st April 1970 in Ballymun, Dublin, into a large family with 5 siblings. An early life-defining moment came when he left school at 13 to become a musician and started busking on Dublin streets, something he continued to do as part of his charity work. His family have always been important to him, and it was his mother who helped start his recording career after she took out a bank loan to enable the Frames to record a demo, which led to them recording 6 studio albums from 1990 to today. While the band has had various members over the years, Glen Hansard was always a constant. The band took their name from the fact that he fixed bicycles for friends and neighbours and owned many cycle frames. The Frames were at the heart of Irish rock music in the ‘90s, driving that scene. He formed folk rock duo The Swell Season with his partner Czech Markéta Irglová in 2006, recording three studio albums. His songs also featured on various soundtracks. As a musician, he cited Leonard Cohen, Van Morrison, and Bob Dylan as major influences, and his songs and performances show that he learnt his lessons well.
It is always a shock when someone dies unexpectedly and before their time. In Glen Hansard’s case, while this is true, history will show that he made a lasting contribution to the maintenance and development of Irish culture. Sadly, this sentiment does not reflect the pain his family and friends will be feeling at the present time at losing such a rounded and honest human being. I will leave Bruce Springsteen to have the final word on Glen Hansard: “Here on E Street, we are heartbroken over the death of Glen Hansard. We met in Ireland many years ago, and he was always nothing but a great musician, a good friend and a generous and gracious man. Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones”.
