THE GARDA INVESTIGATION into Glen Hansard’s death will be a fact-finding one with the main focus providing a file for the coroner’s court.

In the case of every fatal crash a large-scale investigation is undertaken and process that governs the musician’s death will be no different, with a post-mortem scheduled to take place in the short-term and an inquest to be arranged at some point in the future. 

In much of the country investigations of this kind are carried out by a local sergeant but in Dublin gardaí based in Dublin Castle who are part of the National Roads Policing Bureau also carry out probes into fatal crashes. 

Strawberry Beds

Glen Hansard’s body was found at the Lower Road at Strawberry Beds near Lucan at around 4.30am on Wednesday morning after gardaí received a report from a member of the public travelling the road at that time. 

A call went up on the garda radio for units to respond to the scene.

Gardaí are trained to administer first aid at the scene of a crash and to assist ambulance personnel whenever they arrive. The initial Garda statement about the incident, which did not name Hansard, said that treatment was administered but that he was pronounced dead a short time later. 

In Ireland, a doctor or a paramedic, can pronounce a person’s death – gardaí or not allowed do so. 

At all crash scenes, gardaí immediately begin gathering evidence; this will include identification of the driver or checking the registration of the vehicle either on handheld devices or over the radio.

The road is then sealed off, and a log is kept of who goes in and who goes out of the scene – gardaí treat a fatal road crash the same as they would any crime scene.

A Forensic Collision Investigator (FCI) will get a call and travel there. They will examine the area, taking measurements to calculate what caused the crash. They then compile a detailed report which will include a map to explain their findings. 

Photographs and, in some cases, video will also be taken at the scene. In the investigation into Glen Hansard’s death an initial investigation of the motorbike is understood to have found very little damage. 

Hansard was a regular at music sessions at the pub - this image was shared by the venue as part of a tribute posted yesterday. Wren's Nest Wren's Nest

Post-mortem

The garda process continues with the sending of a C71 form, which formally alerts the coroner of the death. 

A post-mortem examination will look for the cause of death. It will determine if there was an underlying medical cause or if the musician was killed from the blunt force trauma of the collision. As part of the process they will also test for toxicology, including for alcohol and narcotics. 

In the days and weeks that follow, gardaí will gather key evidence. A critical point in this will be from the public appeal issued on Wednesday morning, which asked for witnesses or anyone with dash-cam footage to contact gardaí.

The investigating garda or their colleagues will take statements from the last people to see Glen Hansard alive, anyone who saw him on the road and the person who found him injured and called gardaí.

They will gather statements from the 999 call taker, gardaí who responded, ambulance and fire service personnel, the doctor who responded to the scene and any householders nearby who may have heard the collision.

Wren’s Nest

Hansard had been playing music in the Wren’s Nest pub near the scene of the fatal crash before his death as part of a gathering of local musicians he regularly attended on a Tuesday night. 

Gardaí will gather CCTV from there and request to take statements from other people who were with him.

The pub posted a tribute on Wednesday saying it had “always been a privilege” to welcome Hansard over the years. In a statement to The Journal, the venue said the musician had left after closing time and that the pub had closed as normal as its licensed trading hours ended. 

“Mr Hansard left the premises after closing and departed in an easterly direction from the pub,” the statement said. 

The crash took place between Tinkers Hill (R121) and Rugged Lane, to the west of the Wren’s Nest. 

The pub also confirmed that a video circulating online showing Hansard singing an original song with other musicians in the venue was genuine. 

The clock on the wall behind him displays a time of 11.15pm. 

Inquest 

An investigator will retrace the route the musician took and identify locations where they can find CCTV. The request for dashcam footage may throw up even better evidence for investigators as the probe continues. 

The time of the crash is yet to be determined. 

While the Strawberry Beds, where the crash happened, is a relatively quiet roadway near the banks of the Liffey. It is used as a back road link between parts of Lucan, Castleknock and Chapelizod and there would likely have been occasional traffic even in the early hours of the morning.

There is no suggestion at present that there was anyone else or any other vehicle involved in the death of Glen Hansard, and on that basis the likely outcome will be that all that evidence will be put together in a file for the coroner.

In the coming months, witnesses will come together and give evidence at an inquest. A finding on cause of death will be made. Conclusions could include an open verdict, a narrative verdict, accidental death, misadventure, or natural causes.  

An earlier version of this article stated that only doctors have the power to pronounce death. We have corrected our copy to state that paramedics now have that power also.