Music
29 Jul 26

Glen Hansard: Bruce Springsteen, President Catherine Connolly, Colm Mac Con Iomaire and more pay tribute

Glen Hansard and Interference at The Sugar Club, Dublin. Friday 12th of November. Copyright Miguel Ruiz,

Dublin Simon Community, Warren Ellis, Chris O'Dowd, Cat Power and Rhiannon Giddens are also among those who have paid tribute to the Irish music legend

Tributes have continued to pour in this afternoon, following the deeply sad news of the death of Glen Hansard, aged 56.

The Dublin singer-songwriter – who won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008, alongside his Once co-star Markéta Irglová – died following a road traffic accident in the early hours of this morning, July 29.

In a post on Instagram this afternoon, Glen's long-time friend and bandmate in The Frames, Colm Mac Con Iomaire, shared a photo from their younger days, captioned: "Fadó fadó ar maidin..."

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A post shared by Colm Mac Con Iomaire (@colmmacconiomaire)

"Glen Hansard will be remembered as one of Ireland’s great singer-songwriters," the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, reflected in her own tribute. "Glen and his band the Frames stood out as one of the leaders of the thriving wave of Irish bands who emerged in the 1990s and were the source of so much inspiration to a generation of young people and musicians."

She went on to praise his "incomparable live performances" and "the generosity with which he shared his fame," – noting that he provided "encouragement to young musicians and performers, while working to assist with important causes, in particular those suffering from homelessness, with his annual Christmas Eve busk in Dublin’s city centre one of the highlights of the Christmas period."

"Glen was one of the vital driving influences of the Irish music world, bringing people together in the sharing of live music," she continued. "He will be sorely missed by all who knew him or experienced his work."

In a statement on social media, Bruce Springsteen stated that he and the E Street Band "are heartbroken" over the news.

"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," Springsteen wrote. "Always positive, smiling and ready to sing. God bless him and his loved ones."

Damien Dempsey sent out his own tribute to the "Ballymun Bard", describing him as "one of the finest songwriters I ever heard, and the most powerful passionate performer I ever shared a stage with."

"Your power was unfathomable, other worldly," Damien added, "when you ripped into a song you’d rip the roof off the venue and rip your heart out of your chest and hand it to us, and shake us all awake right into the very moment, a monumental power and a monumental loss, I’m still stunned and can’t believe it, safe travels Glen, soul brother, you lift so many hearts and help so many people through life with your beautiful soul ceol and your huge socialist heart and always will, a great legacy to leave this world, far too soon, Irish Hero, Laoch Eireann, we never got up Howth for that fire but we’ll do it again along the Rocky Road somewhere and have a song again together brother..."

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A post shared by DAMIEN DEMPSEY (@damiendempseymusic)

Warren Ellis – of Dirty Three and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds – remembered Glen as "a good man and a loyal friend."

"Always above and beyond," he continued. "And always about the music the blah blah the dogs and the meaning of it all. Sending my love to your family and band mates and friends . Heartbreaking..."

In his own tribute, Irish actor and comedian Chris O'Dowd said that he'd spent the day listening to The Frames' Fitzcarraldo and Dance the Devil.

"Can’t believe Glen has left the world so terribly early," he added. "I recently encountered a Basquiat quote… ‘Art is how we decorate Space & Music is how we decorate time’. Glen was an incredible decorator of our time. His energising melodies and soulful, searching voice made the tough times more manageable, the stagnant times more beautiful, and the joyful times even more memorable.

"I had the opportunity to tell Glen that for me, 'Seven Day Mile' was that song. When I worked in a bar south London, I’d be cleaning up after closing, and the opening bars of 'Seven Day Mile' would light up my time, and carry me for the remainder of the messy shift. Anyone who makes use of music knows the feeling of being taken away. He did that. And he leaves it with us."

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A post shared by chris o'dowd (@chrisodowd)

In a statement, Dublin Simon Community have also praised the singer-songwriter as "a true advocate for our work and a giant in the fight against homelessness."

"Our long-lasting relationship with Glen started back in 2010, when he organised the first official Christmas Eve Busk. What started out as his brainchild soon became an iconic Dublin Christmas event, a festive singsong that spread cheer but also raised vital awareness of the homelessness crisis as well as funds to keep our essential services running.

"To put it simply, the Busk would not have become what it is today without Glen as the driving force behind it. He took it upon himself to bring together Ireland’s leading musicians to help shine a spotlight on what he saw as an injustice in our society. Over the years, Glen invited some of Ireland’s brightest stars, including Bono, Sinéad O’Connor, Imelda May and Shane MacGowan, among so many others who lent their talents to our cause. Thanks to Glen, over two million euro has been raised and used directly to support people when they needed it most.

"Glen’s focus and concern was always on the wellbeing of the individuals and clients of Dublin Simon that he met. He had deep respect and empathy for those navigating the challenges of homelessness and his natural warmth and compassion always shone through in those moments."

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A post shared by Dublin Simon Community (@dublinsimoncommunity)

Tim Wheeler of Ash posted that he was "blessed to have hung out and sang" with Glen.

"He was an incredible talent with a huge voice who lived and breathed music," he reflected. "I’m in total shock, it’s tragic to have lost him so early."

The Stunning also said they were "in shock, speechless."

"The Pied Piper, the Glentertainer is gone," they wrote. "This is the worst news to wake up to and it feels so wrong to talk about him in the past tense already."

See more tributes below: