Sinéad O'Connor, 1966-2023 — Icon And Iconoclast
BY LIZ DUNPHY
People all over Ireland and further afield stopped what they were doing on Wednesday night in shock and sadness as the news broke that the icon and iconoclast, singer Sinéad O’Connor, had died aged 56.
The acclaimed musician and songwriter shot to worldwide fame in 1990 with her haunting reinterpretation of the Prince song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.
Described as “the greatest love song in the history of music” by RTÉ DJ Dave Fanning, the video, pared back and powerful, shows O’Connor looking directly into the camera, tears rolling down her beautiful, grieving face.
She later said that she thought of her mother when she sang that song.
‘Nothing Compares to U’ was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.
That constant clash between her fragility and her raw, raging power was captured in that performance, and those qualities made O’Connor both magnetic and memorable.
But they could also make her vulnerable to public scrutiny and attack, of which she suffered plenty. She once said:
"They tried to bury me but they didn’t realise I was a seed."
She released 10 studio albums, the second of which was chosen for the Classic Album Award 2023 at the Choice Music Awards.
The award was for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got which featured songs including ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ and the anti-racism anti-Thatcherite song ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ about black youths being harassed by police in London.
She received a standing ovation at those awards this year and used her platform there to dedicate the win to Ireland’s refugee community.
"I want to dedicate it to each and every member of Ireland’s refugee community," she said. "You’re very welcome in Ireland, Mashallah. And I love you very much and I wish you happiness."
Remembered as much for her activism as for her music, O’Connor never shied away from controversy or calling out injustices where she saw them.
She famously ripped up a photo of the Pope in protest at clerical abuse on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
Shunning the limits placed on women when she was growing up in 1970s and 1980s Ireland, she used her voice to denounce societal and clerical abuse and discrimination, later loudly championing issues such as abortion and women’s rights.
She also famously renounced restrictive contemporary conceptions of femininity by shaving her head.
That shaved head would become almost a trademark, and a reflection of her independence and rejection of narrow conformity — something so many people felt bound by in the Ireland of her youth.
Film and memoir
An award-winning documentary, Nothing Compares, about O’Connor and her life was screened in cinemas last year and is due for TV release in the coming weeks.
Director Kathryn Ferguson previously said that when Sinéad burst into her consciousness as a young teenager, it felt like a door had been kicked open.
“Here was a bold Irish woman who said things that others didn’t feel they could say, and she said them loudly,” she said.
O’Connor opened up about her traumatic childhood in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, in which she wrote that her mother would tie her down and beat her with a broom and lock her away for days without food or a toilet. She would knock on neighbours’ doors hoping someone would take her in and feed her.
She was sent to a reformatory boarding school attached to a Magdalene laundry before she escaped and enrolled in Newtown School in Waterford.
Her name was scrawled on the inside of a wardrobe in a dorm in that school to which excited students would flock in pilgrimage, tracing the outline of her famous name hidden behind coats and school uniforms.
One of the teachers there, Joe Falvey, had supported and encouraged her music career before she left school at 16 to join a band.
Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, which she wrote and produced, was released in 1987, and was Grammy nominated.
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, released in 1990, sold millions of copies worldwide and has been viewed almost 400m times on YouTube.
Born in Glenageary in south Co Dublin in 1966, O’Connor had four children. Her son Shane died by suicide last year, aged just 17.
In her last social media post on July 17, O’Connor shared a photo of Shane and wrote: “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.”
She converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat.
In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.
“Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
President's tribute
On Wednesday night, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the giant of Irish music and icon of Irish feminism.
“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters, and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her,” he said in a statement.
Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, which she wrote and produced, was released in 1987, and was Grammy nominated.
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, released in 1990, sold millions of copies worldwide and has been viewed almost 400m times on YouTube.
Born in Glenageary in south Co Dublin in 1966, O’Connor had four children. Her son Shane died by suicide last year, aged just 17.
In her last social media post on July 17, O’Connor shared a photo of Shane and wrote: “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.”
She converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat.
In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.
“Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
President's tribute
On Wednesday night, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the giant of Irish music and icon of Irish feminism.
“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters, and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her,” he said in a statement.
"My first reaction on hearing the news of Sinéad’s loss was to remember her extraordinarily beautiful, unique voice.
What was striking in all of the recordings she made and in all of her appearances was the authenticity of the performance, while her commitment to the delivery of the song and its meaning was total.
“To those of us who had the privilege of knowing her, one couldn’t but always be struck by the depth of her fearless commitment to the important issues which she brought to public attention, no matter how uncomfortable those truths may have been.
“Sinéad O’Connor’s voice and delivery was in so many different ways original, extraordinary, and left one with a deep impression that to have accomplished all she did while carrying the burden which she did was a powerful achievement in its own way.
President Higgins' tribute continued: “Her contribution joins those great achievements of Irish women who contributed to our lives, its culture, and its history in their own unique but unforgettable ways.
“May her spirit find the peace she sought in so many different ways.”
The President sent his “deepest condolences” to O’Connor’s father John, the members of her family, and to all those with whom she shared her life.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also paid tribute to the singer and icon.
“Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare,” he stated. “Condolences to her family, her friends and all who loved her music. Ar dheis Dé go Raibh a hAnam.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin wrote on Twitter: “Devastated to hear of the passing of Sinéad O’Connor. One of our greatest musical icons, and someone deeply loved by the people of Ireland, and beyond.
“Our hearts go out to her children, her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her.”
Comedian Dara Ó Briain also lamented the singer’s passing.
“That’s very sad news. […] I hope she realised how much love there was for her.”
People all over Ireland and further afield stopped what they were doing on Wednesday night in shock and sadness as the news broke that the icon and iconoclast, singer Sinéad O’Connor, had died aged 56.
The acclaimed musician and songwriter shot to worldwide fame in 1990 with her haunting reinterpretation of the Prince song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.
Described as “the greatest love song in the history of music” by RTÉ DJ Dave Fanning, the video, pared back and powerful, shows O’Connor looking directly into the camera, tears rolling down her beautiful, grieving face.
She later said that she thought of her mother when she sang that song.
‘Nothing Compares to U’ was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.
That constant clash between her fragility and her raw, raging power was captured in that performance, and those qualities made O’Connor both magnetic and memorable.
But they could also make her vulnerable to public scrutiny and attack, of which she suffered plenty. She once said:
"They tried to bury me but they didn’t realise I was a seed."
She released 10 studio albums, the second of which was chosen for the Classic Album Award 2023 at the Choice Music Awards.
The award was for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got which featured songs including ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ and the anti-racism anti-Thatcherite song ‘Black Boys on Mopeds’ about black youths being harassed by police in London.
She received a standing ovation at those awards this year and used her platform there to dedicate the win to Ireland’s refugee community.
"I want to dedicate it to each and every member of Ireland’s refugee community," she said. "You’re very welcome in Ireland, Mashallah. And I love you very much and I wish you happiness."
Remembered as much for her activism as for her music, O’Connor never shied away from controversy or calling out injustices where she saw them.
She famously ripped up a photo of the Pope in protest at clerical abuse on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
Shunning the limits placed on women when she was growing up in 1970s and 1980s Ireland, she used her voice to denounce societal and clerical abuse and discrimination, later loudly championing issues such as abortion and women’s rights.
She also famously renounced restrictive contemporary conceptions of femininity by shaving her head.
That shaved head would become almost a trademark, and a reflection of her independence and rejection of narrow conformity — something so many people felt bound by in the Ireland of her youth.
Film and memoir
An award-winning documentary, Nothing Compares, about O’Connor and her life was screened in cinemas last year and is due for TV release in the coming weeks.
Director Kathryn Ferguson previously said that when Sinéad burst into her consciousness as a young teenager, it felt like a door had been kicked open.
“Here was a bold Irish woman who said things that others didn’t feel they could say, and she said them loudly,” she said.
O’Connor opened up about her traumatic childhood in her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, in which she wrote that her mother would tie her down and beat her with a broom and lock her away for days without food or a toilet. She would knock on neighbours’ doors hoping someone would take her in and feed her.
She was sent to a reformatory boarding school attached to a Magdalene laundry before she escaped and enrolled in Newtown School in Waterford.
Her name was scrawled on the inside of a wardrobe in a dorm in that school to which excited students would flock in pilgrimage, tracing the outline of her famous name hidden behind coats and school uniforms.
One of the teachers there, Joe Falvey, had supported and encouraged her music career before she left school at 16 to join a band.
Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, which she wrote and produced, was released in 1987, and was Grammy nominated.
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, released in 1990, sold millions of copies worldwide and has been viewed almost 400m times on YouTube.
Born in Glenageary in south Co Dublin in 1966, O’Connor had four children. Her son Shane died by suicide last year, aged just 17.
In her last social media post on July 17, O’Connor shared a photo of Shane and wrote: “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.”
She converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat.
In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.
“Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
President's tribute
On Wednesday night, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the giant of Irish music and icon of Irish feminism.
“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters, and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her,” he said in a statement.
Her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, which she wrote and produced, was released in 1987, and was Grammy nominated.
‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, released in 1990, sold millions of copies worldwide and has been viewed almost 400m times on YouTube.
Born in Glenageary in south Co Dublin in 1966, O’Connor had four children. Her son Shane died by suicide last year, aged just 17.
In her last social media post on July 17, O’Connor shared a photo of Shane and wrote: “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.”
She converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat.
In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.
“Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
President's tribute
On Wednesday night, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to the giant of Irish music and icon of Irish feminism.
“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters, and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her,” he said in a statement.
"My first reaction on hearing the news of Sinéad’s loss was to remember her extraordinarily beautiful, unique voice.
What was striking in all of the recordings she made and in all of her appearances was the authenticity of the performance, while her commitment to the delivery of the song and its meaning was total.
“To those of us who had the privilege of knowing her, one couldn’t but always be struck by the depth of her fearless commitment to the important issues which she brought to public attention, no matter how uncomfortable those truths may have been.
“Sinéad O’Connor’s voice and delivery was in so many different ways original, extraordinary, and left one with a deep impression that to have accomplished all she did while carrying the burden which she did was a powerful achievement in its own way.
President Higgins' tribute continued: “Her contribution joins those great achievements of Irish women who contributed to our lives, its culture, and its history in their own unique but unforgettable ways.
“May her spirit find the peace she sought in so many different ways.”
The President sent his “deepest condolences” to O’Connor’s father John, the members of her family, and to all those with whom she shared her life.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also paid tribute to the singer and icon.
“Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare,” he stated. “Condolences to her family, her friends and all who loved her music. Ar dheis Dé go Raibh a hAnam.”
Tánaiste Micheál Martin wrote on Twitter: “Devastated to hear of the passing of Sinéad O’Connor. One of our greatest musical icons, and someone deeply loved by the people of Ireland, and beyond.
“Our hearts go out to her children, her family, friends, and all who knew and loved her.”
Comedian Dara Ó Briain also lamented the singer’s passing.
“That’s very sad news. […] I hope she realised how much love there was for her.”
-----------IRISH EXAMINER
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