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SINÉAD O’CONNOR HAS been hailed as one of Ireland’s “most gifted” artists following her death at the age of 56.
The legendary singer was one of this country’s most internationally famous musicians and was much-loved at home and abroad.
Artists from across the musical spectrum, writers, actors, politicians and others have shared their admiration following the news of her death.
O’Connor, who also used the names Magda Davitt and Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam, had four children. One of her children, Shane, is also recently deceased.
RTÉ will pay tribute to O’Connor through its programming over the next few days.
Sinéad O’Connor – Live at Vicar Street will air on RTÉ One on Saturday Night. The hour-long special was recorded live in Vicar Street in 2002, and includes performances of iconic tracks such as Molly Malone, My Lagan Love, Nothing Compares 2 U and Fire On Babylon.
Up For The Match will also remember O’Connor on Saturday evening.
RTÉ radio stations, Radio 1, 2FM and Lyric FM will be delving into the archives for previous interviews and performances by O’Connor over the years.
Other programmes paying tribute include Lyric FM’s Mystery Train, Raidió na Gaeltachta’s Tús Áite, The Ray D’Arcy Show and The Brendan O’Connor Show on RTÉ Radio 1.
Fans gathered at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Temple Bar today to remember the music icon.
The London Irish Centre is also hosting a gathering to pay tribute this evening.
The Harbour Bar in Bray, near where the singer once lived, will play her songs throughout the evening.
On Friday night, Dublin’s Penny Lane will have a ‘Sinéad Night’ in her honour.
Dublin’s Lord Mayor Daithí de Rósite will open a physical book of condolences at the Mansion House on Friday and Saturday between 11am and 5pm.
President Michael D Higgins offered his condolences to her father, John, her other family members and “all those with whom she shared her life”.
“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,” the President said.
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.”
President Higgins described her as one of Ireland’s “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”.
“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.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he was “really sorry” to hear of Sinéad’s death, saying her music was “loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare”.
Sinéad O’Connor had recently recorded a new theme for historical TV drama Outlander, working with composer Bear McCreary, who wrote on Twitter: “I am gutted by the loss of #SineadOConnor.
“She was the warrior poet I expected her to be — wise and visionary, but also hilarious. She and I laughed a lot. We were writing new songs together, which will now never be complete.
“We’ve all lost an icon. I’ve lost a friend. #RIP.”
I am gutted by the loss of #SineadOConnor .
— Bear McCreary 🐻🎶 (@bearmccreary) July 26, 2023
She was the warrior poet I expected her to be — wise and visionary, but also hilarious. She and I laughed a lot. We were writing new songs together, which will now never be complete.
We’ve all lost an icon. I’ve lost a friend. #RIP
Fiachna O Braonain, a member of Irish band Hothouse Flowers, said: “Many conversations had… Many songs sung…
“Many laughs had and dances danced… Thank you for these beautiful memories Sinead… So terribly sad…”
The tweet was accompanied with pictures of the pair talking and smiling together.
Many conversations had… Many songs sung… Many laughs had and dances danced…
— Fiachna Ó Braonáin (@fobraonain) July 26, 2023
Thank you for these beautiful memories Sinéad… ❤️💫
So terribly sad…
Suaimhneas síoraí agus codladh sámh… ❤️#nothingcompares pic.twitter.com/kAdwlurLJ1
Irish band Aslan has paid tribute to the singer.
Both originating from Dublin, O’Connor collaborated with the band on Up In Arms in 2001. Aslan lead singer Christy Dignam died in June.
A post on the band’s Facebook page read: “Two Legends taken from us so closely together… No words… Rest in Peace Sinead.”
Singer Alanis Morissette wrote on Instagram Stories that Sinéad was a “profound inspiration” to herself and many others.
“Her passion, poetry and unapologetic expression raised the bar on artistry and female empowerment. Her questioning of societal norms deeply influenced culture’s appreciation of female complexity,” she said.
“Her ability to vulnerably dwell on the small part of the bell-shaped curve was thought provoking, stirring and inspiring.”
Such a profound loss. Our Warrior Woman - Fearless yet fragile. May Sinéad Rest in Peace. pic.twitter.com/Ojt0Y8sM4R
— Christy Moore (@christymoore45) July 27, 2023
Comedian Patrick Kielty, the new host of Ireland’s The Late Late Show, tweeted: “Just heartbreaking. She was the truth way before most of us knew where to look. Rest in peace, Sinead.”
American singer-songwriter and pianist Tori Amos said O’Connor was a “force of nature” whose “talent we will not see the like of again”.
The lead singer of alternative rock band The Charlatans has referred to Sinead O’Connor as the “true embodiment of a punk spirit” after her death at the age of 56.
In a tweet, Tim Burgess wrote: “Sinead was the true embodiment of a punk spirit.
“She did not compromise and that made her life more of a struggle. Hoping that she has found peace,” he addded.
Author Marian Keyes described the news as “heartbreaking”, describing the singer as an “amazing, brave, beautiful, unique wonder”, while writer Caitlin Moran said O’Connor was “THE greatest voice of her generation, no contest” and “fearless”.
Actor Russell Crowe was also among those sharing anecdotes about the singer, explaining how he had met her last year while working in Ireland.
Recounting their meeting on Twitter, he said: “There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinead. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness “oh, it’s you Russell”.
He wrote that he’d “had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine”, ending his tweets saying: “When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights. We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinead.”
Born Sinead Marie Bernadette O’Connor in Glenageary, County Dublin, in December 1966, the singer had a difficult childhood.
She released her first critically acclaimed album The Lion And The Cobra in 1987.
Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, followed in 1990 and continued the singer’s success as it received glowing reviews.
O’Connor’s 1990 song ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, from her second album, shot the Dublin-born singer to the top of the global charts, spending four weeks in the number one slot in the US Billboard Hot 100.
With reporting by Press Association
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Good man for sticking to his guns. There’s a creepy bunch of inquisitors going through peoples history and expecting impossibly high standards from everyone
@Michael Eric Devine: yeah it’s great to see someone proud of their homophobia…… yes the tweets were from years ago, so he simply should have apologised for past mistakes and moved on
He already did
@:
he’s proud of it!? He’s already acknowledged it wasn’t right and said he’s grown as a person since then, it has come up before and been addressed. What he’s refusing to do is issue a meaningless apology as others do because some self righteous twit just discovered the tweets and demands he bends the knee.
People like you who come along and falsely claim he’s ‘proud’ of his homophobia are contrary liars and should not be appeased.
@: so their is nothing from your past your embarrassed about, go polish your halo !
@: the lgbtq community is always telling us how terrible life is for them and the discrimination they suffer. Surely then as a parent you would prefer your child to be straight just so they don’t have to suffer all that? What’s so bad then about wishing your child is not gay? Obviously in a perfect world, it shouldn’t matter, but we live in the real world. The remainder of his posts were something classified as the worst type of crime by the modern version of Orwell’s thought police: jokes. Get over it.
@Michael Eric Devine: after the tweets came to light he posted several tweets defending them. He was asked by the Oscars producers to just apologise and move on but he refused. He did eventually apologise in this tweet but if he really had matured and moved on like he has claimed then why not just say that 24hrs earlier? I’m a Kevin Hart fan but he could have handled this better. This wasn’t the LGBT community attacking him. It was his employer asking for clarity, which they’re more than entitled to do.
@Ger: good on him for not issuing empty words on some Harvey Weinstein’s say so, it would have been the easiest thing in the world to do but he stood firm.
He clarified in his own terms and refused the massa’s demands. Respect to the man
@Michael Eric Devine: I wouldn’t mind, he’s favorite Christmas song is the Streets of New York – he’s rightly fecked.
@Michael Eric Devine: so you’re saying that he should be respected for standing by his homophobic tweets? That says as much about you as it does about him.
What pisses me off about these mobs is they go after people when they achieve a lifetime dream. They wait and drag up your history, with no generosity of spirit or forgiveness or sense that in 10 years someone might have changed.
They wait. And they take that dream from you.
@Ajax Penumbra: They just did it to the creator of Atari, lost a lifetime achievement award by accusations made to get a #metoo moment in the gaming industry, turns out they were false accusations but that doesn’t even matter anymore.
@Ajax Penumbra: it’s a sad situation when you think that the people who point out the wrongdoing are at fault, not the person who did/said it. They could go back through all my social media posts and never find a homophobic or racist comment and the same can be said for most people. Surely that’s not a high bar to be setting?
@Ger: we must not judge the behaviour of yesteryear by today’s standards. Acceptance of other people’s lives and decisions is an ever evolving movement.
We should be happy we have come so far so quickly.
Oh come on. We all do and say stupid things. Imagine if all the ignorant things I said as a teenager came up in a job interview 30 years later *rolls eyes* *not endorsing homophobia before anyone accuses me*
@Sinead Mooney: 31 isn’t a teenager
A comedian insults somebody! He’s insulted black/white/chinese people before. However you can insult the LGBT community. The Oscars and the media need to grow up. We’re all bored of this
@Karen Wellington: well if 70’s the new 50, and 50 the new 30….
@Karen Wellington: ho get a life and stop trying to be the Spanish Inquisition
So he gave up the job because he refused to apologise, and then apologised?
Sorry, what?
@Benny: I think he might have been making a point.
@Paul Harte: he didn’t want to apologise to get the job, but wanted to show that the actual bringing up of the subjective offensive posts was not the reason for apologising.
@Benny: I guess he chose to apologise of his own accord rather than one by a means of an ultimatum for a lucrative result. Which one would seems more genuine.
I imagine that when everyone who is roughly 40 and older is gone, there will be a world full of people who don’t know a time when there was no mobile phones, internet or social media, which the latter has literally ruined the planet we live in today. I am forever grateful that I grew up when I did. This whole offensive culture is just gone completely plinky plonky.
@Nollaig Elliot:
Plinky plonky! Nice one. Saved to my lexicon of Apocalyptic descriptors.
@Nollaig Elliot: here here :)
If they really want to get the Oscars audience figures up, then rattle everyones cage and give the Gig to Frankie Boyle….
I`d watch that on PPV.
@Pixie McMullen: never going to happen but it would be great.
If people are offended by Kevin Hart steer well clear from Eddie Murphy’s 80’s stand up shows!
@Paul O’b: I love Eddie Murphy but stand up is hard to watch now. Especially, when so many young men were dying at that time.
@Lisa Saputo: It was definitely a different time alright! Some of it’s pretty heavy but still I don’t understand how someone is so offended by people that they don’t know on the other side of the world.
I think if I were a Hollywood celebrity I’d just remove myself from twitter altogether.
Cue lots of people saying, “Oh, you can’t say anything these days without someone getting offended”. This is just excusing bad behaviour. Sick of people saying what they want and then whining when they get criticised.
@Lisa Saputo: he’s a comedian. They mock every breed, creed, sex, etc etc. I’m sure he’s even made black jokes which would mock himself. Every comedien in the world should have to apologise if that’s the case
@samstheman: But we aren’t talking about jokes.
@Lisa Saputo: a simple question: were you offended yesterday by Kevin Hart?
@Lisa Saputo: Actually we are..People need to cop on to themselves.. Getting offended for nothing seems to be the soup of the day lately.
@Lisa Saputo: We are talking about jokes though. Do you not understand that you don’t get to define what humor is? Just because it mentions a “minority” doesn’t instantly make it an attack or bigoted.
Do you get offended on behalf of everyone?
@Lisa Saputo:
Ah ffs, lighten up .
@Lisa Saputo: sick of people like you who are offended by an ants fart and think because you have hurt feelings the world should revolve around you.
@Gulliver Foyle: I am offended by how unfunny he is.
@Brian Smith: You see you just prove my point – people are so obsessed with owning the ‘libtards’ and ‘snowflakes’ that you can’t even have a constructive conversation about what is simply rude behaviour.
@Lisa Saputo: Neither can you as you just dodged everyones points
@Lisa Saputo: then stop trying to take away everyone else’s choices in life, just because you don’t think he’s funny. You can chose to not watch or listen to him, that’s your right . But where is everyone else’s rights if they want to ? Are they only allowed to make a choice if it fits in with your personal taste?
@Andrew Kavanagh: The jokes are one thing and I would agree with you to a point but giving an interview in which you say having your son grow up to be gay is your worst nightmare is wrong. Lots of people may think like that but it’s wrong and one of the reasons why many closeted gay males self harm or commit suicide.
@Brian Smith: Who is taking away your choices in life? How will your life change if you don’t watch the Oscar awards because there’s a new celebrity hosting it? You can still buy his stuff if it makes you laugh.
I’m not excusing what he said, principally because I don’t know what he said, however we lie upwards of tens times per day, anyone who says they don’t, make that eleven. We all say things we may later regret, if you’re in the public eye that’s a lot more difficult, so many in his position issue grovelling apologies or excuses. To hear someone stand by what he said in the past and apologise specifically and only to those he had offended is refreshing. He didn’t offend me or the vast majority of us and has no need to issue an apology to us.
It’s time the perpetually offended got a grip and stopped looking for reasons to be offended.
He’s a comedian he’s makes fun of lots of things but yet it’s only the poor old LBGT group that have an issue. Get over it.
Racists.
@Cheapy Ryan: and explained it all from his bed with a dopey head in black and white
Double racist?
@Quentin Moriarty: or FACTIST
Show me the comments where “insulting” meant using their identity as a slur. He was literally saying the that to be gay is a bad thing. That’s different than making some observation and gay culture or even a gay stereotype. His tweets all has a common theme, being gay is something to he ashamed of. But different than other comments.
@Gary Caffrey: You millennials are going to ruin the world.
@Gary Caffrey: find it hard to believe he said or seriously implied being gay was bad. What did he say exactly?
@Rob Cahill: There will not be a world to ruin once the 40-plus crowd are done with it.
@Michael Eric Devine: Yeah, that’s pretty much exactly what his tweets said: https://twitter.com/benfraserlee/status/1070413541012893696
@Michael Eric Devine: You’re on the internet FFS – look it up before you decide what you find hard to believe…
One example: ““Yo if my son comes home & try’s 2 play with my daughters doll house I’m going 2 break it over his head & say n my voice ‘stop that’s gay.’”
@Rob Cahill: : ) Brilliant AND correct
@Kem Trayle: meh. Not particularly funny and stupid to say but he’s a comedian. I was at Jimmy Carr two weeks ago and he joked about the poor mosquitoes in Africa getting aids.
Liberal darling Trevor Noah is on video joking on stage that all aboriginal women are ugly.
Offensive jokes are common, it’s patronizing to suggest some groups are more fragile and should be exempt. It’s the picking and choosing that’s the problem
@Philip Kavanagh:
The 40-80 brigade have facilitated the greatest leap in living standards / life expectancy / food quality / hyper convenience / entertainment / medical advancement that humanity has ever seen.
You, I and anyone else reading these comments from a smart device are at the APEX of human experience.
I can’t say I share your disappointment….
@Michael Eric Devine: I wasn’t commenting on the tweet, just noting that you found it hard to believe when you’re one click away from Google.
I agree with you on everything else.
“What’s worse than finding a worm in your apple? Being raped.” ~ Jimmy Carr
@Kem Trayle: Yeah….What’wrong with that? It’s silly but it’s gas. It’s OK to support LGBT AND find that funny. If someone is offended by that then they’re the one who has a psychological issue, probably in the form of some sort of inferiority complex. The rest of the people in the offended camp who aren’t genuinely “offended” are just conforming.
But that’s the problem with millennials – they don’t know how to cope with the world so they use modern tech tools like social media to cry and get on board the outrage train…. from the comfort of their Mammy’s couch, of course.
They’re quite the broken generation. It’s all explained very well in this video, which you may have seen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vudaAYx2IcE#action=share
It might seem off topic at first but the reasons they are of such weak character and offended so easily are all linked to the factors spoken about in that video. Those factors are the same reasons why today’s movies and music and pretty much everything are so sub-standard – because they are made / written by these millenials, with no character, no harsh life experiences to fuel the emotion and provoke certain thoughts that fuel creativity.
Bur sure listen, I’m 39… I haven’t a clue what generation box I fit in to but we all have our flaws….just none as bad across the board like this one.
@Kevin: Well said. His comments are the perfect example of the ignorance of that gen.
@Conor Byrne: got it in a nutshell, not that I’m offending nuts…..oh ffs, see how crazy they are making the world !
@Philip Kavanagh: well I’m sure you’ll give it a bloody good shot!!
@Michael Eric Devine: Michael, here’s a direct quote.
“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will. Now with that being said, I don’t know if I handled my son’s first gay moment correctly. Every kid has a gay moment but when it happens, you’ve got to nip it in the bud!”
@Conor Byrne: So you think comments like this are fine?
“One of my biggest fears is my son growing up and being gay. That’s a fear. Keep in mind, I’m not homophobic, I have nothing against gay people, be happy. Do what you want to do. But me, being a heterosexual male, if I can prevent my son from being gay, I will. Now with that being said, I don’t know if I handled my son’s first gay moment correctly. Every kid has a gay moment but when it happens, you’ve got to nip it in the bud!”
@Lisa Saputo: I think it’s poor comedy, I don’t like Kevin Hart’s comedy in general though.
If we are going to be pedantic I can go find you many quotes from comedians active today that are as bad or worse than what Kevin said.
The fact he has already addressed and acknowledged it was a silly thing to say doesn’t seem matter to you lads. What do you want exactly, if he has already addressed and acknowledged the silly comments?
@Kevin: A gross over exaggeration. Please give specific examples of 40-80 year olds who have facilitated the “greatest leap in living standards” and “medical advancement that humanity has ever seen”.
@Brian Smith: Your comment makes no sense.
@Lisa Saputo: Yes, I’ve seen the show, and yes his comments are fine.
He’s being brutally and completely honest and just saying out loud what a LOT of Dads think but wouldn’t talk about. I hate to break the news to you but it’s natural for a Dad to think those thoughts.
It’s not homophobic. You can see in the text you just quoted….”I’m not homophobic…be happy…do what you want….”. It’s spelled out for you.
To you they are the words of a hateful man?? Get real. Stop actively looking to be outraged and looking for some drama in your life in the most bizarre and sad ways.
@Conor Byrne: Just because he says he’s not homophobic does it true. If saying your worst nightmare is having a gay son isn’t homophobia, what is it?
@Rob Cahill: Too late, your generation has already destroyed it.
Somebody in Hollywood didn’t want him to get the Oscar job, and could only find this dirt on him , simple as.
Could care less about what this guy tweets, but he’s a terrible comedian
@Barry Zuckerkorn:
You could care less or you couldn’t care less?
@Gary Caffrey: Americans can’t speak proper
This is so ridiculous that was his dream job and he had to step down and now the Oscars have to find a new host.
He said them as an adult and should take responsibility which may include repeated apologies. When you’re the perpetrator of hate and discrimination it isn’t you who gets to decide when the comments should be moved on from.
@Rochelle: @Rochelle:
“which may include repeated apologies” have you any idea how ridiculous you sound.
You weirdo inquisitors are creepy sorts passing out penance to people you deem problematic
@Rochelle: How many apologies exactly or does he have to continue for the rest of his life? Have you ever said/posted anything off-colour or offensive by todays standards OR the unknown standards of tomorrow – and if you have (we all have) would you be perfectly fine getting hounded to apologise on an ongoing basis? Sounds like the chinese system of social credits would be right up your street.
The internet is literally in the hands of al other commenters…
He said the worse thing if he had a son would be if he turned out gay
I don’t think the LGBT community is being sensitive
Imagine this “the worse kinda guy my daughter could marry would be Irish”
@john: and ? , and your offended by that? How sad you are or pathetic, I’m not sure. Got called worse than that growing up but I’m not going to go crying to the Internet lgbt gender fluid thought police!!!! You should write a new Mr Man book, call him Mr Offended, but you couldn’t because the term Mr which is sexist !!
See how stupid this can go!
@john: I’ve imagined that it was about the worst person your daughter could marry to be Irish and i still couldn’t give a shiny shite.
You too can be invulnerable to the silly gags of bad comedians if you came round to yourself and copped on
@Michael Eric Devine: contextualise…you’d give a shit if non Irish people were called to a referendum to vote on whether or not you could get married.
The Journal’s comment section days must be numbered. Any one who says anything about anything is accused of being some form of …ist. Racist,populist,fascist,misogynist,leftist,rightist, heightist,clownist ,you can probably be accused of being ice ceramist.
@Cathal: ^^ that’s commentist.
BTW – what have you got against ceramicists?
@Dara O’Brien: ice creamist. Spell check
That’s a shame, wouldve been a good Oscar host. Damn PC patrol
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