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Funeral to be held for Oscar-winning songwriter Glen Hansard

Fiona MurrayBBC News NI
Getty Images Glen Hansard has short curly reddish/brown/grey hair and a greyr beard and is singing with two hands on the microphone and his eyes closedGetty Images
Glen Hansard was the lead singer of The Frames and an Oscar-winning songwriter

The funeral is due to be held later for Oscar-winning Irish singer and songwriter Glen Hansard who died in a motorcycle crash in Dublin last week.

The 56-year-old, who shot to prominence in 1991 musical comedy film The Commitments, was long-time frontman of acclaimed rock band The Frames.

News of his sudden death shocked the music world and fans alike, with tributes being paid from the likes of Ed Sheeran, Bono and Bruce Springsteen, who said he was "heartbroken".

Many people also paid their respects at a public wake in the city on Monday, ahead of his funeral in St Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin on Tuesday, which will feature musical performances by friends and family.

Damien Eagers/PA Wire A black and white picture of Glen Hansard sits on a table with a vase of white roses beside itDamien Eagers/PA Wire
Tributes, candles and flowers were laid in Temple Bar, Dublin, as people signed a book of condolence for Oscar-winning Irish musician Hansard

A life of music

Hansard's life was steeped in music, from first picking up a guitar as a teenager right until the final hours of his life, when he was performing in a traditional music session.

His career spanned more than three decades, including winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2008 with Marketa Irglova, which featured in the low-budget musical romance film Once.

He and Irglova released three albums as The Swell Season, while Hansard also encountered success as a solo artist with 2016 album Didn't He Ramble being nominated for a Grammy in 2016.

He formed The Frames one year before The Commitments, going on to record six studio albums including Dance The Devil, For The Birds and Irish chart topper Burn The Maps.

Hansard also released five solo albums up to 2023's All That Was East Is West Of Me.

Getty Images Two men on stage playing with a band, the man on the left is holding a yellow and white electric guitar and turning his head back towards a bandmate. He has an amazed smile on his face. Behind him is a man playing a bass guitar, he too is smiling while looking down at the instrument he is playing. It is daylight at a music festival. Getty Images
Hansard performing on stage with The Frames at Coachella in 2007

The musician, who became a father three years ago, has also been hailed by charities for his work in raising money for the homeless.

In 2010, he started an annual Christmas Eve busk in Dublin City Centre, which attracted high-profile musicians including Sinéad O'Connor and Shane McGowan.

Hansard's friend, artist Colin Davidson, said the busk had become "an international Irish institution in its own right".

'A loss to Ireland'

Damien Eagers/PA Wire Three men sit at a table in the foreground of the picture. One man, to the right of the frame is playing a violin. He is wearing a light blue shirt, cream trousers and a green hat. He is facing towards the table. In teh middle of the table is a man with long dark hair and a short beard. He is wearing a black jacket and the strap of the guitar, he is playing, is visible. A third man faces towards the left hand side of the table. He is wearing a dark shirt and blue jeans. He has curly blonde or grey hair and sun glasses. He is holding a brown case in his hand. Other people are sitting in the background, listening to the music.Damien Eagers/PA Wire
Musicians playing at a public wake for Glen Hansard at the Irish Museum of Modern Art in Dublin on Monday

Following Hansard's death, many people travelled to sign a book of condolence in Temple Bar in Dublin.

And thousands of fans queued to pay tribute to the musician, during his public wake on Monday.

Fans spoke about going to his concerts and seeing him busking on the street.

Danni Rohde, a fan of Hansard's band, The Frames, said it "doesn't feel real".

Another fan, Chris James, said he saw Hansard busking for the first time 25 years ago on Dublin's Grafton Street.

"I thought it one of the coolest things I'd ever seen and one of the reasons I picked up and started playing guitar," he said.

One fan described his death as a loss to Ireland.