Comedian Mike Rice has paid tribute to fellow Irishman Glen Hansard, who died earlier today (July 29) following a motorcycle crash. The 56-year-old songwriter had released two albums this year, live renditions of his best works that were recorded on his most recent tour. Hansard’s team issued a statement this morning confirming the musician had died in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland.
His hometown proved to be the crux of a hilarious moment when Rice, one half of Mike and Vittorio’s Guide to Parenting, went to see Hansard live. Taking to his Instagram account to pay tribute to the Falling Slowly songwriter, Rice recalled a show where a heckling crowd member punctured the atmosphere.
Rice said: “I just got the news there that legendary Irish musician, singer-songwriter Glen Hansard has just died. You might know him from the movie Once; he won an Oscar. He was in the Irish film The Commitments, lead singer of a band called The Frames. I saw him live twice, absolutely unbelievable. Unbelievable songwriter, unbelievable musician.
“And I remember the first time I saw him, he was telling this story where he was talking about a freind of his who had passed and he was saying his friend had battled with cancer with dignity and with courage and you know, he was in the middle of telling this story in the lead-up to the song and in the middle of this story someone in the audience just shouted, ‘Up the Dubs.'”
For those not in the know, “up the Dubs” means “up Dublin,” a sporting chant usually used for the Gaelic Athletic Association teams. Rice continued: “Glen kind of just paused, in the middle of this heartfelt story, and he just went, ‘yeah, up the Dubs.’ He just played the song. It was hilarious, and it was unreal and, yeah, RIP Glen Hansard. Absolute legend. Up the Dubs.”
A statement from Hansard’s management has since confirmed the passing. The statement reads: “With broken hearts, we announce the passing of Glen Hansard who passed away, in the early hours of this morning, following a road traffic accident in Dublin. Glen’s family is deeply shocked and heartbroken by this tragic loss and respectfully requests privacy at this extremely difficult time.
“The family is grateful for the support they have received and wishes to thank the emergency services who attended the scene. As this matter remains the subject of an active Garda investigation, no further comment will be made at this time.”
Hansard had won an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the 2007 film, Once. Hansard also released two albums this year, Don’t Settle Vol. 1 and Vol. 2. His last studio album saw him reunite with Marketa Irglova for Forward, an album by The Swell Season released in 2025.
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