Oscar-winning musician and actor Glen Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin.

The 56-year-old died following the single-vehicle collision on Lower Road, Strawberry Beds, Lucan, Dublin on Wednesday.

Shortly before 4.30am, gardaí and emergency services were alerted to a collision involving a motorcycle on the R109 Lower Road, between Tinkers Hill (R121) and Rugged Lane.

A Garda spokesperson said: "The motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced dead a short time later.

"The scene has been preserved for examination by Garda forensic collision investigators. Local traffic diversions are currently in place.

"Gardaí are appealing to anyone who witnessed the incident to come forward. Road users who may have relevant camera footage (including dash-cam) and were travelling in the area at the time are asked to make this footage available to investigating gardaí.

"Anyone with information is asked to contact Lucan Garda Station at (01) 666 7300, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800 666 111, or any Garda station."

The frontman of the Frames since the 1990s, Glen Hansard also acted in Bafta winning movie The Commitments and Once.

The romantic musical drama earned the Dublin native an Oscar with his co-star and co-writer Markéta Irglová for the song 'Falling Slowly'.

The 56-year-old, who was from Ballymun, described it as an amazing, mad experience in his Oscar's acceptance speech.

For years he led the Christmas Eve charity busk outside The Gaeity Theatre in Dublin city, where members of the public gathered to see famous Irish musicians perform in aid of the Dublin Simon Community.

He also took part in protests against Ireland’s housing crisis, a march to mark three years since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and the anti-austerity water charge protests in 2014.

At the funeral of The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan in 2023, Hansard performed Fairytale Of New York with Irish singer Lisa O’Neill, which prompted dancing in the aisles of the Co Tipperary church.

He is the father of a three-year-old boy, Christy. - Additional reporting from Press Association