Sinead O’Connor dies, aged 56
Irish musician Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56.
O’Connor’s death was confirmed by her family in a statement provided to BBC News. No cause of death has been disclosed.
The Dublin-born singer-songwriter’s death comes a year after the death by suicide of her 17-year-old son Shane. Throughout her life, O’Connor was known for her political activism and personal candour, as well as a string of acclaimed albums and her 1990 cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”.
O’Connor changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018 after converting to Islam, but continued to work and perform under her birth name.
Conor McGregor and Russell Crowe have led tributes to the “Jackie” singer.
In his lengthy tribute, Crowe shared the story of an encounter he had with O’Connor outside an Irish pub in 2022.
“We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad,” the Unhinged star wrote on Twitter.
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Sinead O’Connor’s former flatmate pays tribute to late singer
Sinead O’Connor’s former flatmate Nitin Sawhney has paid tribute to the singer after her death.
“Devastated to hear of the passing of Sinead O’Connor,” the musician and producer wrote on Twitter on Wednesday (26 July).
“Back in the 90s she came over to my tiny room in a shared flat in Tooting and we jammed together for ages,” Sawhney added. “She was so kind to my flat mates including @MykolachiHello who she sweetly complimented on her red coat…
:She stayed in touch for a while afterwards and was always so supportive. I will miss her humility, her incredible voice and her honest, compassionate soul.”
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 09:30
Presenter and producer Siobhán McAndrew pays tribute to Sinéad O’Connor
“You were so loved by so many Sinéad O’Connor,” Siobhán McAndrew wrote on Twitter along with a video of the “Jackie” singer taking the stage at the RTÉ Choice Music earlier this year.
“This video was taken just 4 months ago at the @choiceprize awards in Dublin and the atmosphere in the room when Sinéad took to the stage was just electric,” McAndrew added. “I’m sorry the world was so cruel to you. Rest in Power Irish Princess.”
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 09:00
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 08:30
Story of the song: Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinead O’Connor
From The Independent archive: Robert Webb on a discarded Prince song that packed an emotional punch for the Irish singer.
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 08:00
Sinead O’Connor, the Irish artist who put her pain, and the pain of others, into song
O’Connor shot to fame in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”, confronting the nation with all her trauma and vulnerability. The Independent’s Helen Brown pays tribute to a complicated, brilliant artist.
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 07:30
Director of Sinead O’Connor documentary ‘devastated’ at singer’s death
Director Kathryn Ferguson, who made a documentary called Nothing Compares about O’Connor’s life, told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row show on Wednesday (26 July) that she was “devastated” to hear the news of the singer’s death.
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 07:00
Russell Crowe recalls encounter with Sinéad O’Connor outside Irish pub
Russell Crowe has paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor.
On Wednesday (26 July), the 59-year-old actor recalled a chance encounter he had with the late singer outside a pub in Ireland last year.
“Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us,” Crowe wrote on Twitter. “Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman.
“Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waived me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad,” Crowe wrote. “She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness, ‘oh, it’s you Russell.’”
The Unhinged star continued by writing that O’Connor then joined him and his friends at a table as they engaged in a “conversation without fences,” that included discussions about a recent Dublin heatwave, local and American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition, her memories of New Zealand, faith, music, movies, and her brother.
“When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights,” Crowe wrote. “We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.”
Peony Hirwani27 July 2023 06:30
(Getty Images)
Irish singer was vocal advocate for women in the music industry and reproductive rights
Inga Parkel27 July 2023 06:00
In the years leading up to her death, O’Connor was vocal about her struggles with addiction and trauma.
O’Connor, who had frequently spoken about her mental health issues over the years, said that the stress of 2020, as well as the death of a loved one, led to her being “briefly addicted to a drug other than weed”.
At the time, she had tweeted: “Message for folks who have tickets for next year’s shows: those shows are being postponed until 2022 so that I may go into a one year trauma and addiction treatment program because I had a very traumatic six years and this year was the end of it but now recovery starts.
“I grew up with a lot of trauma and abuse. I then went straight into the music business. And never learned really how to make a normal life. Never took proper time to heal. Wasn’t ready to either.
“Music business is a very unforgiving place for artists who need to postpone due to emotional or mental health issues,” she added.
Inga Parkel27 July 2023 05:00
Sinead O’Connor, the Irish artist who put her pain, and the pain of others, into song
Read Helen Brown’s beautiful tribute to the “complicated and brilliant” Sinead O’Connor for The Independent.
(Rex Features)
O’Connor shot to fame in 1990 with her cover of Prince’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, confronting the nation with all her trauma and vulnerability. Helen Brown pays tribute to a complicated, brilliant artist
Inga Parkel27 July 2023 04:00
