Markéta Irglová has paid tribute to her late 'Once' co-star Glen Hansard.
In a post on Instagram Irglová wrote: "My deepest condolences to Glen's family, his brothers and his beautiful wife and son, you are all in my thoughts and prayers. I am so sorry for your tragic loss, my heart goes out to you. May his love always surround you, his spirit guide and protect you, and may his light shine on throughout your days."
Irglová and Hansard quickly rose to fame in 2007 for their roles in the film 'Once'. The film earned them an Academy Award for Best Original Song for the ballad Falling Slowly' in 2008.
The pair recorded three albums together, with their most recent 'Fallow Forward' which was released in July 2025.
Hansard sadly passed away following a fatal motorcycle collision in Dublin. The musician, aged 56, was killed after a single-vehicle crash on the R109 near Rugged Lane in Lucan, close to Strawberry Beds, in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
A special busking memorial took place in Dublin City Centre yesterday for the musician who began by busking on Grafton Street.
A group of musicians gathered around the statue of the late Luke Kelly located near Grafton Street to sing some of Hansard's songs and to remember the legendary Irish musician.
The memorial, situated near the Gaiety Theatre where Hansard held his annual Christmas Eve busk for charity, was organised by Jamie Harrington.
Speaking about the event, Harrington told RTE, "I organised this today because I wanted to give people who are also fans of Glen a chance to gather and be together with other people who are also sad."
"You know, it's a really, really sad time. Glen was a legend to many of us. He was a friend to me, and I was very lucky to have Glen as a friend and as someone I could rely on and depend on when things needed to be done. And, you know, from talking to people here today, Glen has touched so many people’s lives by never even meeting them. His music resonates with people all over the world", he added. "But he’s just a kid from Ballymun at the end of the day - Ballymun to the world," he continued.
Bono, Bob Geldof, Bruce Springsteen and Ed Sheeran are among musicians paying tribute to the legendary Irish musician.
In a statement, the U2 frontman said: "Sometimes I would wonder if Glen Hansard really existed...Seriously, he was such an angelic presence... not otherworldly... in fact, very present this presence... A smiling rascal if you needed him to be... this most musical and mischievous archangel of Ballymun... no airs, plenty of graces... Of course, Glen was the shining star of the Christmas Eve busk... sometimes the only one reminding the rest of us that Christmas began with a refugee born in a manger, which is hardly a step from living on the street."
"To be utterly yourself by being more interested in others - a clue for any of us trying out different personas. He really was who you thought he was. He could never walk by a person living rough without checking they were OK... and more than that, he worked very hard so that less people had to live on the streets in the first place," he continued.
"When the crowds got bigger and for safety's sake Glen had to agree to move the busk to a stage kindly provided outside The Gaiety Theatre, he would say, 'We'll give it our best, but it's not a busk if we're not on the street!'… because that's who he was - a performer at eye level in any situation. The stage was a separation he wouldn't recognise. Of all the grand and gigantic venues he and The Frames played, you sensed the street was his most favoured place to perform. And street people, his favourite audience. Voice of the streets. A choir of angels in one man. The rest of us blessed to stand there beside our very own and very earthed Angel Gabriel... All of us welcome in his choir, whatever shape or form.... and I'm telling myself this morning that if he never existed, then he can never cease to exist. For me, he will always be everywhere I see a coin spinning into an open guitar case. May you rest in the peace you gave to so many," Bono added.
