“He was kind to everyone”: Glen Hansard mourned by many in Czech Republic
The tragic death of the Irish rock musician Glen Hansard on Wednesday made headlines around the world. There has also been an outpouring of grief here in the Czech Republic, where Hansard touched countless lives on many visits over a 30-year period.
Glen Hansard first performed in Czechia with The Frames in 1996 and subsequently played countless times around the country with the band, solo and as part of The Swell Season
At a gig in Prague some years ago, Hansard told me a little about his connection to this part of the world.
“It's funny when I came here first I'd been to New York before I was here. I could never put my finger on what I loved about New York, and when I came here I could put my finger on it. What New York is, it's the capital of Europe, and the Eastern European influence in New York was what I liked most about it, and when I came here I got a purer taste of the same thing. I can't explain it, I can't put it into words – it's a taste."
The Dubliner also developed strong ties to Czech culture. He loved the work of filmmaker Jan Švankmajer, was close to the late music critic Jiří Černý and took the name The Swell Season from a novel by Josef Škvorecký.
The LP The Swell Season was the eponymous debut of his project with singer-songwriter Markéta Irglová, with whose family in Moravia Hansard spent a lot of time with. It included the song Falling Slowly, which first appeared in the film Beauty in Trouble by Jan Hřebejk. Famously it was also featured in Once, and carried the Czech-Irish duo – who also starred in the movie – all the way to an Oscar in 2008.
But as much as anything Glen Hansard made many, many friends in Prague and around the Czech Republic over the decades.
Among them was the young poet Šimon Leitgeb, who spent time with him and his family in Dublin only a couple of weeks ago.
“He was really nice to everybody. He was really kind to me. He was kind to basically everybody who knew him or met him. So I think there are two reactions. People are upset, because they feel he could have stayed here longer, and he was at his peak in terms of his career. And people are really sad, because as I said he was a good person.”
Leitgeb also shared how he will look back on his friendship with Glen Hansard.
“I will remember his smile. That’s something which will stay in my memory forever, I hope. He had a really charismatic smile and sometimes it was more than words. Also I will remember his modesty. In this respect he was my idol, my hero. That’s Glen. That’s how he was, in my eyes.”
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Markéta Irglová on reuniting with Glen Hansard, 20 years of Falling Slowly – and musicals ambitions
Markéta Irglová has had a busy 2025, releasing a new album and touring with Glen Hansard as The Swell Season after a break of a decade and a half.
