Sinead O’Connor dies aged 56
Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor has died at the age of 56.
O’Connor’s family issued a statement on Wednesday evening announcing her death. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” the statement said. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
O’Connor’s death came 18 months after her 17-year-old son Shane died after leaving a hospital while on suicide watch. O’Connor had three other children.
Born in south Dublin in 1966, O’Connor became a star at just 21 years old with her debut Grammy-nominated album The Lion and the Cobra in 1987. But it was her chart-topping cover of Prince’s ballad Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990 that made her a household name across the world. The iconic music video for the song has been viewed on YouTube more than 400 million times.
Recognised as much for her shaved head and outspoken views as much her incredible voice, O’Connor didn’t take a backward step on issues like feminism, religion and war.
She was a vocal critic of the Catholic Church, and faced public backlash after ripping up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
Religion and spirituality continued to play a prominent role in O’Connor life. In the late 1990s she was ordained as a priest by a bishop from an independent Catholic group and said she wanted to be known as Mother Bernadette Mary. In 2018 she converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat, but continued performing under her original name.
Fachtna Ó Ceallaigh, who managed O’Connor from 1986 to 1990 and in later years, said she blazed a trail for other female artists. “It wasn’t just that she was unique looking – her willingness to speak what she believed to be the truth forged a new path for women in the music industry to be as close to their true selves as they could possibly be.”
Ó Ceallaigh said the singer struggled with her success after 1990. “When people are catapulted into the public arena, particularly at such a young age, it can have a devastating impact. It gave her a huge platform but that carried maybe overwhelming responsibility and I’m not too sure she was able to cope with that.”
“It’s important for artists to realise that all that glitters is not gold. Her life and times were a terrible manifestation of that.”
RIP Sinead O’Connor (1966-2023)