Sinéad O'Connor: a tragic life story in photos

Despite finding global fame, Sinéad O'Connor's life was not easy. What remained constant was that she wasn't afraid to say what was on her mind and speak up for what she believed in... however controversial.

The singer was raised in Dublin, and she was named after Sinéad de Valera, the wife of Irish President Éamon de Valera. She had a troubled childhood, and her misdemeanours meant she lived in a religious institution for a period. She later realized that she had PTSD from childhood abuse from her mom.

After dropping out of school and putting an ad in Hot Press magazine, she joined her first band, which got her noticed. She had a spat, however, with U2, and she generated criticism for voicing support for the IRA. She later retracted her comments about the paramilitary group, but remained a firm believer in a united Ireland.

Her first album 'The Lion and the Cobra' was highly-praised, and it took influences from people like Bob Marley to Bob Dylan.

Off the back of the release of her first album, O'Connor performed on David Letterman, and her single 'Troy' reached number 5 on the Dutch Top 40.

Her second album was released in 1990, and it featured her iconic song 'Nothing Compares 2 U'. The song was written by Prince, and it achieved both worldwide attention and critical praise. O'Connor channelled the emotion she felt for her mother, who died in a car accident when the singer was still a teenager, into the performance.

Her version of what happened when she went to Prince's house after the release of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' changed over the years. The story first came to light in 2014, but in her recent memoir from 2021, she alleged that he was quite angry and physical with her. In her memoir, she described having to escape the house.

The 1990s was the commercial high point of O'Connor's career. She collaborated with artists such as Roger Waters and she contributed to the soundtrack of 'In the Name of the Father'.

She drew criticism from Frank Sinatra when she declared that she would not perform if the US national anthem was played before one of her gigs. The legendary crooner said he would ''kick in her in the a**''. As a result of the furore, she withdrew her name from consideration for the Grammys.

In 2007, the singer spoke to Oprah about her struggle with bipolar disorder and ideations of taking her own life. “It’s like being a bucket with holes in it. Just leaking tears from every pore,” she said, adding that medications had helped but not totally gotten rid of the pain. In 2012, she canceled a tour because of the disease.

She won best international singer at the Brit Awards, but she did not attend. She did, however, make an appearance at another ceremony to collect the Irish IRMA. Sinéad O'Connor also appeared as the Virgin Mary in Neil Jordan's 'The Butcher Boy.'

While singing a Bob Marley cover to protest child abuse on SNL, she stared into the camera and infamously tore a picture of Pope John Paul II, singing “And we know we shall win/As we are confident in the victory/Of good over evil... Fight the real enemy."

She had not done this in the dress rehearsal, so this moment on live television stunned people inside and outside the studio. Soon, angry calls came in, but O'Connor justified the stunt by saying she was a protest singer and not a pop star. To this day, this incendiary moment is still cut from SNL reruns.

Joe Pesci hosted SNL the week after, and he made it very clear that he was unhappy with the stunt. Madonna also voiced her misgivings, though many felt she was trying to regain the headlines at a time when she was promoting her own book.

(Image: still from Saturday Night Live, October 10, 1992, uploaded by SNL on YouTube)

In the 90s and 00s, Sinéad O'Connor had a career of stops and starts. She lent her vocals to the 'Michael Collins' movie in 1996, and over the course of the 2000s, she collaborated with newcomers like Damian Dempsey.

In the 1990s, Sinéad O'Connor was ordained as a priest by an order not affiliated with the Catholic Church. She expressed that she wanted to be called Mother Bernadette Mary. Nevertheless, in recent years, she had asked three Popes to excommunicate her.

In 2018, she converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat. Then, she sparked controversy when she sent a Tweet that attacked non-Muslims. Not for the first time, she hastily retracted her comments.

In 2022, the singer announced the horrifying news: "My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.''

She later tweeted the lyrics of a Bob Marley song, and she dedicated it to her late son by writing: "This is for my Shaney. The light of my life. The lamp of my soul. My blue-eye baby. You will always be my light. We will always be together. No boundary can separate us." A week after, she was hospitalised on her own volition following a series of tweets in which she indicated she was going to take her own life.

Prior to the discovery of his body in Wicklow, he had been missing for two days. Sinéad O'Connor criticized Irish authorities because her son, she alleged, had been on watch in hospital but somehow he had been able to leave.

In a 2017 video to her fans, the singer spoke about mental health. “Why are we alone? People who suffer from mental illness are the most vulnerable people on Earth. You’ve got to take care of us. We’re not like everybody... If you have a family member that suffers from mental illness, care for them, tenderness, love, care for them. Visit them in the hospital."

In the summer of 2023, Sinéad O’Connor passed away, too. She had been found dead in a London flat at the age of 56, but details about the cause of death became known only a year later.

On Jan. 9, the London coroner told the New York Times that the Irish singer "died of natural causes" and had "therefore ceased involvement in her death." No further details were given on the exact natural causes. Generally, death by natural causes means the death was not an accident, overdose, murder, or the result of someone taking their own life.

Image: Flowers at her grave in Dublin

In her last tweet, the singer posted a photo of her son, saying: “Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.” This brought much speculation as to whether her death was intentional, but it was just an unlucky coincidence.

Image: 7860mShahdid

Sinéad O’Connor died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma, according to her death certificate, as first reported by the Irish Independent one year after she died.

Crushed by the news, the highest Irish politicians sent their tributes. Leo Varadkar — Ireland’s former taoiseach, or prime minister, tweeted: “Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.” The deputy PM added that O’Connor was “one of our greatest musical icons, and someone deeply loved by the people of Ireland, and beyond.”

Author Caitlin Moran tweeted: “Oh my God — Sinead. THE greatest voice of her generation, no contest … She was decades before her time, and fearless. Rest in power, queen.”

Her music clearly transcended geography and genre. American hip hop artist Ice-T tweeted: “Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.”

Musician Alison Moyet said she was “heavy hearted” by the loss, describing O’Connor’s “astounding presence.” “Voice that cracked stone with force & by increment. As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast.”

American singer/songwriter Tori Amos shared the idea: “Sinéad was a force of nature. A brilliant songwriter & performer whose talent we will not see the like of again,” she wrote on social media. “Such passion, such intense presence & a beautiful soul, who battled her own personal demons courageously. Be at peace dear Sinéad, you will forever be in our hearts.”

O'Connor released 10 studio albums, the most recent of which was 2014's 'I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss.' In July 2023, she said she was finishing a new record that was going to be released in 2024. She also released a cover of the theme song to the TV show 'Outlander.'

The singer was survived by her three children Jake, Roisin and Yeshua. She also left behind a grandson.

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