'Once' star Glen Hansard dies in crash in Ireland
Grammy-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard performs at The Caverns in Pelham, Tenn., in this March 29, 2019 file photo. AP-Yonhap
January 2015 was legendary singer-songwriter Glen Hansard’s last trip to Seoul. It was a memorable one filled with tears of joy as Korean people flocked to see the “Once” star. Hansard called out “Bo-go-si-peo-yo, I missed you” in broken Korean to a full house in the Grand Theater of the Sejong Center for the Performing Arts 11 years ago.
Now after his sad passing in a motorcycle accident in Dublin in the early hours of Wednesday, it's our turn to say “we’ll miss you.”
The Oscar-winning songwriter died aged 56 in a motorcycle crash near Chapelizod in Dublin, Ireland.
"With broken hearts we announce the passing of Glen Hansard. Glen's family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss," ATC Management said in a statement.
Born in Ballymun, Dublin, on April 21, 1970, Hansard left school at the age of 13 without much prospects. He said he turned his life around by teaching himself how to play guitar and write songs, while listening to his idols, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.
He went from busking on the streets of his hometown of Dublin to success with his band The Frames and then on to international fame and Academy Award glory with the song "Falling Slowly."
A poster for the 2006 film "Once"
He was one of Ireland's most acclaimed and influential musicians and every Christmas Eve, he returned to the streets of Dublin to busk and raise money for a local homeless charity. He also became a fan favorite in Korea after the 2006 film “Once” became sensational here, a surprise to Hansard himself and the Irish who visited here. Having the song “Falling Slowly” sung to me when I first arrived in Seoul was wonderfully bizarre.
Back in the glory days of 2015, Hansard and Marketa Irglova of the Swell Season, the band from the indie movie, were together again for the first time since they split up four years earlier. Hansard considered Seoul a fitting location for their reunion, saying, “Whenever we come here, we get the best and are treated the best. Just thank you.”
On the other side of the city, at the same time, the musical adaptation of the movie, the first non-English version of “Once the Musical” ran from 2014-2015. The Korean musical team returned for a 10th year reunion in 2025 for a successful three-month run.
Hansard played in Seoul to huge crowds multiple times between 2009 and 2015, and in his own words, it was “the best place that the Swell Season has ever played.”
Emilee Jennings is a freelance journalist from Ireland based in Seoul.