Oscar-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard dies in Dublin motorcycle crash

DUBLIN (AP) — Academy Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin early Wednesday, his management said. He was 56.

ATC Management told broadcaster RTE Hansard’s family was “deeply shocked and heartbroken” by his death.

Irish police said a man in his 50s died in single vehicle motorcycle crash in Lucan on the outskirts of the Irish capital before 4:30 a.m. on Wednesday. The man, who they did not name, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.

Hansard combined acting and a musical career. He played a member of a Dublin soul band in 1991 movie “The Commitments” and won an Oscar in 2007 for the song “Falling Slowly” from the film “Once,” in which he starred alongside Markéta Irglová.

He was long-serving front man for rock band The Frames, half of rock duo The Swell Season and released solo albums including “Didn’t He Ramble,” which was nominated for a Grammy for Best Folk Album in 2016.