By Sean Murphy
DONEGAL music fans were grieving following the tragically sad news that Oscar-winning singer Glen Hansard has been killed.
The Frames frontman died following a motorcycle accident around 4.30am in Dublin today.
His death immediately prompted an outpouring from fans across the county.
Music lovers from Donegal were well represented at gigs of Glen Hansard and his band The Frames over the years.
When he won an Oscar in 2008, one of his first gigs afterwards at An Grianan Theatre in Letterkenny.
He was due back in Letterkenny later this year to play at the Fomhair Festival on Friday, October 30.
A spokesperson for his Live At The Big Top Letterkenny show revealed Glen was due to “play a very special concert in Donegal as part of his 2026 UK and European tour, ahead of a brand-new album”.
He performed in An Grianan 18 years ago with Markéta Irglová – performing as The Swell Season – shortly after winning the Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Falling Slowly” from the movie Once.
Local dad John O’Donnell took his son Sam for a cycle through Letterkenny Street the following morning and bumped into Glen.
John told the Donegal News: “Glen was fresh from his Oscar win in 2008 and was happy to be pictured with my son Sam on Market Square in Letterkenny early on the Sunday morning.
“He said he had been gigging in Letterkenny the night before. The picture was taken on November 2, 2008.
“Sam and I were cycling up Main Street and spotted him. I asked would he mind having his photo taken with Sam, especially as he’d won the Oscar earlier that year.
“He said, ‘I’m always happy to have my photo taken with a fellow red head’. He was a gentleman.”
The late Glen Hansard, fresh from his Oscar win in 2008, happy to be pictured with young Letterkenny music fan Sam O’Donnell at Market Square in Letterkenny.
Friends claimed that as well as a gentleman, former busker Glen was also a homeless campaigner and a tireless advocate for people’s rights.
Glen’s journey began in Dublin in the early 1980s, busking on the streets at just 13.
In 1990, he formed The Frames, achieving national acclaim with albums like Fitzcarraldo (1996) and performed with legends like Eddie Vedder from Pearl Jam and also Bob Dylan.
He was aged 56 when he was killed in the early morning traffic collision.
A Garda spokesperson said: “Gardaí are appealing for witnesses following a fatal 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 motor cycle.
“The motorcyclist, a man in his 50s, was treated at the scene but was pronounced deceased a short time later.”
He added: “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.”