the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56.
B次元官网网址淚t is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sin茅ad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,B次元官网网址� the singerB次元官网网址檚 family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE. No cause was disclosed.
She was public about her mental illness, saying that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. OB次元官网网址機onnor posted a Facebook video in 2017 from a New Jersey motel where she had been living, saying that she was staying alive for the sake of others and that if it were up to her, sheB次元官网网址檇 be B次元官网网址済one.B次元官网网址�
When her died by suicide in 2022, OB次元官网网址機onnor tweeted there was B次元官网网址渘o point living without himB次元官网网址� and was soon hospitalized.
Recognizable by her shaved head and elfin features, OB次元官网网址機onnor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame. She was a star from her 1987 debut album B次元官网网址淭he Lion and the CobraB次元官网网址� and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of PrinceB次元官网网址檚 ballad B次元官网网址淣othing Compares 2 U,B次元官网网址� a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the gray-eyed OB次元官网网址機onnor in intense close-up.
She was a lifelong non-conformist B次元官网网址� she would say that she shaved her head in response to record executives pressuring her to be conventionally glamorous B次元官网网址� but her and troubled private life often overshadowed her music.
A critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations sexual abuse were widely reported, OB次元官网网址機onnor made headlines in October 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while appearing live on NBCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淪aturday Night LiveB次元官网网址� and denounced the church as the enemy. The next week, Joe Pesci hosted B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live,B次元官网网址� held up a repaired photo of the Pope and said that if he had been on the show with OB次元官网网址機onnor he B次元官网网址渨ould have gave her such a smack.B次元官网网址�
Days later, she appeared at an all-star tribute for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden and was immediately booed. She was supposed to sing DylanB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淚 Believe in You,B次元官网网址� but switched to an a cappella version of Bob MarleyB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淲ar,B次元官网网址� which she had sung on B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live.B次元官网网址�
Although consoled and encouraged on stage by her friend Kris Kristofferson, she left and broke down, and her performance was kept off the concert CD. (Years later, Kristofferson recorded B次元官网网址淪ister Sinead,B次元官网网址� for which he wrote B次元官网网址淎nd maybe sheB次元官网网址檚 crazy and maybe she ainB次元官网网址檛/But so was Picasso and so were the saints.B次元官网网址�)
She also feuded with Frank Sinatra over her refusal to allow the playing of B次元官网网址淭he Star-Spangled BannerB次元官网网址� at one of her shows and accused Prince of physically threatening her. In 1989 she declared her support for the Irish Republican Army, a statement she retracted a year later. Around the same time, she skipped the Grammy ceremony, saying it was too commercialized.
In 1999, OB次元官网网址機onnor caused uproar in Ireland when she became a priestess of the breakaway Latin Tridentine Church B次元官网网址� a position that was not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church. For many years, she called for a full investigation into the extent of the churchB次元官网网址檚 role in concealing child abuse by clergy. In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI apologized to Ireland to atone for decades of abuse, OB次元官网网址機onnor condemned the apology for not going far enough and called for Catholics to boycott Mass until there was a full investigation into the VaticanB次元官网网址檚 role, which by 2018 was making international headlines.
B次元官网网址淧eople assumed I didnB次元官网网址檛 believe in God. ThatB次元官网网址檚 not the case at all. IB次元官网网址檓 Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation,B次元官网网址� she wrote in the Washington Post in 2010.
OB次元官网网址機onnor announced in 2018 that she had and would be adopting the name ShuhadaB次元官网网址� Davitt, later Shuhada Sadaqat B次元官网网址� although she continued to use Sin茅ad OB次元官网网址機onnor professionally.
B次元官网网址淗er music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare,B次元官网网址� Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement on social media.
OB次元官网网址機onnor was born on Dec. 8, 1966. She had a difficult childhood, with a mother whom she alleged was abusive and encouraged her to shoplift. As a teenager she spent time in a church-sponsored institution for girls, where she said she washed priestsB次元官网网址� clothes for no wages. But a nun gave OB次元官网网址機onnor her first guitar, and soon she sang and performed on the streets of Dublin, her influences ranging from Dylan to Siouxsie and the Banshees.
Her performance with a local band caught the eye of a small record label, and, in 1987, OB次元官网网址機onnor released B次元官网网址淭he Lion and the Cobra,B次元官网网址� which sold hundreds of thousands of copies and featured the hit B次元官网网址淢andinka,B次元官网网址� driven by a hard rock guitar riff and OB次元官网网址機onnorB次元官网网址檚 piercing vocals. OB次元官网网址機onnor, 20 years old and pregnant while making B次元官网网址淟ion and the Cobra,B次元官网网址� co-produced the album.
B次元官网网址淚 suppose IB次元官网网址檝e got to say that music saved me,B次元官网网址� she said in an interview with the Independent newspaper in 2013. B次元官网网址淚 didnB次元官网网址檛 have any other abilities, and there was no learning support for girls like me, not in Ireland at that time. It was either jail or music. I got lucky.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淣othing Compares 2 UB次元官网网址� received three Grammy nominations and was the featured track off her acclaimed album B次元官网网址淚 Do Not Want What I HavenB次元官网网址檛 Got,B次元官网网址� which helped lead Rolling Stone to name her Artist of the Year in 1991.
B次元官网网址淪he proved that a recording artist could refuse to compromise and still connect with millions of listeners hungry for music of substance,B次元官网网址� the magazine declared.
OB次元官网网址機onnorB次元官网网址檚 other musical credits included the albums B次元官网网址淯niversal MotherB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淔aith and Courage,B次元官网网址� a cover of Cole PorterB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淵ou Do Something to MeB次元官网网址� from the AIDS fundraising album B次元官网网址淩ed Hot + BlueB次元官网网址� and backing vocals on Peter GabrielB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淏lood of Eden.B次元官网网址� She received eight Grammy nominations overall and in 1991 won for best alternative musical performance.
OB次元官网网址機onnor announced she was retiring from music in 2003, but she continued to record new material. Her most recent album was B次元官网网址� released in 2014 and she sang the theme song
The singer married four times; her union to drug counsellor Barry Herridge, in 2011, lasted just 16 days. OB次元官网网址機onnor had four children: Jake, with her first husband John Reynolds; Roisin, with John Waters; Shane, with Donal Lunny; and Yeshua Bonadio, with Frank Bonadio.
In 2014, she said she was joining the and called for its leaders to step aside so that a younger generation of activists could take over. She later withdrew her application.
This story includes discussion of suicide. If you feel like you are in crisis or are considering suicide, please call the Crisis Centre BC suicide hotline at 1-800-784-2433.
Other resources include: Canada Suicide Prevention Service at Toll free: 1-833-456-4566. You can also text 45645 or visit the online chat service at .
