‘Take Me To Church’ hitmaker Hozier has honoured his fellow Irish singer-songwriter, Glen Hansard, following Hansard's death at the age of 56. Hansard died following a motorcycle crash in Dublin in the early hours of 29th July, with tributes pouring in across the industry regardless of genre from Bruce Springsteen, Bono and more.

Hozier described Hansard as a central part of Irish storytelling across music, film and the streets of Dublin, adding that it felt surreal to imagine Irish music without him. He remembered someone who gave an extraordinary amount of himself not only to his songs and performances, but to the wider community of musicians around him.

In the Hozier's moving tribute, he spoke about Hansard’s importance to Irish music and the impact he has had on the community of artists around him, describing a man who gave so much of himself to his songs, his performances and the city he loved.

Hozier reflected, “Sharing in the shock and sorrow today at the news that we lost Glen Hansard. Glen’s legacy reaches far beyond that of an Irish or Dublin musician who’s work became beloved globally; he was a uniquely central feature and vessel of Irish story telling on both stage, screen and street for as long as many of us can remember.

“Glen is so indelibly tied into the life and breath of Irish music, and particularly the city of Dublin, that it feels utterly surreal to imagine that he could be gone from us now.

“His beautiful work was an inspirational component of my own and so many other’s upbringing and adult life, as was his consistent kindness, support and advocacy. This was a man who gave a remarkable amount of himself to song itself, to his shows, to the city he loved and to a community of musicians who loved and admired him dearly.

“I’ll be among countless artists and fans today reflecting on his impact on our own life and work. My thoughts in particular are with his family and close friends at this moment”.

While Hansard was not necessarily defined as a country artist, his work and career have plenty of connections to Americana and roots world. He performed at the 16th annual AmericanaFest in 2015, which took place in Nashville, as well as supporting Bob Dylan on tour and sharing both a stage and friendship with Bruce Springsteen. Hansard also moved in the same circles as writers including Steve Earle, Josh Ritter and Jason Molina. These were artists who, like Hansard, rarely fitted neatly into one genre. Their music crossed between folk, rock, country and Americana, but always had honest songs and good storytelling in common.

That is what makes Hansard’s death important to country and Americana fans alike. He represented many of the values at the heart of the genre, even if his own music was never labelled ‘country’.

Sadly, as with many untimely deaths in history, many people may now realise they knew more of his work than they realised, before they knew the name behind them. Hansard appeared in the 1991 film The Commitments before starring in Once, an independent film which introduced his music to a much wider audience.

He co-wrote and performed ‘Falling’, which went on to win the Academy Award for Best Original Song, while Once was later turned into a successful Broadway musical.

Hansard was also lead singer of The Frames and one half of The Swell Season. Songs including ‘When Your Mind’s Made Up’, ‘Say It to Me Now’ and ‘Leave’ became known for their emotional and honest songwriting.

His connection with Hozier also went beyond being two successful Irish artists. They performed together as part of Dublin’s annual Christmas Eve busk, a transformative event led by Hansard to raise money for people experiencing homelessness.

That makes Hozier’s tribute especially meaningful. He is an influencial mainstream artist whose own music also draws heavily from folk, blues, gospel and traditional storytelling. Neither Hozier nor Hansard could be placed in a genre pigeon-hole, but both show why country and Americana cannot always be separated from the wider roots music around them.

Prior to his death, Hansard was still writing, performing and bringing musicians together. He was not being remembered at the natural end of a long-retired career, he was still very much in the middle of it.