Sinéad O’Connor Dead at 56

The music world is mourning the loss of a superstar.

Sinéad O’Connor, the Grammy-nominated singer whose music career spanned over 10 studio albums, one of which included the 1990 cover of the hit single, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” died on July 26 at the age of 56, her family confirmed to Irish broadcaster RTE.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” their statement read. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”

Her cause of death has not been shared.

The singer’s death comes more than one year after the passing of her 17-year-old son, Shane, who died after being reported missing following his admission to an Irish hospital.

“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,” Sinéad wrote on Twitter in January 2022. “May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.”

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1966, O’Connor’s music career kicked off in the ’80s, with the singer forming a band alongside Colm Farrelly. In 1987, she released her debut solo album The Lion and the Cobra.

But it was her sophomore record I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got that received praise from critics and earned the singer a worldwide fanbase. In fact, the album’s lead single written by Prince, “Nothing Compares 2 U,” would become a standout hit, later hailed as the number one single of 1990 in several countries. The singer would receive numerous accolades throughout her career including Grammy nominations for her lead single, as well for her VHS Year of the Horse.

Michel Linssen/Redferns via Getty Images

Additionally, O’Connor’s career was plagued with controversy. Most notably, during a 1992 Saturday Night Live performance, she tore a photo of Pope John Paul II to pieces as a form of protest against the Catholic Church and made comments about sexual abuse cases surrounding the Church during an episode of the late night TV show, After Dark, three years later.

In her 2021 memoir, Rememberings, O’Connor noted that she stood by her actions decades earlier, writing, “Everyone wants a pop star, see? But I am a protest singer. I just had stuff to get off my chest. I had no desire for fame.”

Throughout her life, O’Connor spoke openly about her mental health struggles. In 2007, she shared that she diagnosed with bipolar disorder years earlier and had attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday.

Paul Bergen/Redferns via Getty Images

Eight years later, as she revealed to The Guardian, she said she suffered a mental breakdown. O’Connor, who had recently begun working on her memoir at the time, said the mental health episode was brought by one of her children suffering from an illness as the well as the effects after undergoing a hysterectomy later that year.

“Angry, raging, I was furious,” she explained. “I was completely gone. I was suicidal. Nobody could deal with me. I was isolated and alone. I’d be looking at them, thinking, what the hell are they all frightened of?”

O’Connor said she admitted herself into a psychiatric hospital in Dublin in 2016, noting, “Thank God I spent a lot of the last six years there, because otherwise I wouldn’t be alive.”

Looking to the future, the artist explained she “managed to achieve something” as of late.

“If I’ve managed to have a shower or I’ve managed to clean the house, I’ll say to myself: ‘You’ve achieved a lot today, that was great,'” she shared. “But I don’t do it looking in the mirror. Now and again I’ll give myself a kiss in the mirror or say, you f–ing rock! I think I’m good now. But I’m not stupid enough to think I won’t have relapses. I’m not stupid enough to think I won’t end up in hospital again. I’m a recovering abuse survivor and it’s a life’s work.”

Prior to her death, O’Connor had expressed her desire to embrace her music career again.

“Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence,” she wrote on Facebook July 11. “Very happy to be home. Soon finishing my album. Release early next year. Hopefully touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025.”

O’Connor is survived by her three children Jake, 34, Roisin, 28, and 16-year-old Yeshua.

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