Sinead O’Connor, Irish singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice and blunt, politically-charged songs, has died at the age of 56.
O’Connor passed away on Wednesday after a long illness, according to a statement from her family.
Sinead O’Connor died on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the age of 56.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” the singer’s family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE.
At this time, her cause of death is unknown.
Who was Sinead O’Connor?
Sinéad O’Connor was born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor on December 8, 1966, in Glenageary, County Dublin, Ireland.
She had four siblings – John, Eimear, Joseph, and Eoin – and her parents, Marie and Sean (a structural engineer, then barrister), divorced when Sinéad was young.
After the divorce, she originally lived with her abusive mother, but she decided to live with her father and stepmother in 1979; her mother died in a car accident a few years later.
At the age of 15, O’Connor was sent to Magdalene Asylum, a Catholic Grianán Training Centre, for 18 months due to her truancy and shoplifting.Sinéad said that certain incidents at Magdalene caused her “panic and terror and agony.”
O’Connor later dropped out of high school and got a job with a singing telegram service in Dublin and began performing music in pubs and on the street.
Career
When Sinéad was 15, the sister of In Tua Nua drummer Paul Byrne heard her sing Barbra Streisand’s “Evergreen” at Magdalene Asylum and put her in touch with Byrne.
O’Connor recorded the song “Take My Hand” with the band, and in 1984, she started her own band, Ton Ton Macoute, and caught the attention of the owners of Ensign Records.
Sinéad soon signed a record deal, and Ensign released her debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” on November 4, 1987. The album went Gold and peaked at #3 on the Irish Albums Chart and #4 on the Official New Zealand Music Chart.
Her follow-up, 1990’s “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” reached #1 on the charts in several countries and was certified Platinum or higher in the U.K., the U.S., Australia, Germany, Canada, and France.
The single “Nothing Compares 2 U” topped the charts in more than a dozen countries and was named the year’s #1 World Single at the 1990 “Billboard” Music Awards.
O’Connor followed the massive success of “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” with the albums “Am I Not Your Girl?” (1992) and “Universal Mother” (1994), and in 1997, she played the Virgin Mary in the film “The Butcher Boy.”
Frans Schellekens/Redferns
In 2000, Sinéad released her first album in six years, “Faith and Courage,” and 2002’s “Sean-Nós Nua” was an album of traditional Irish songs.
In 2003, she covered Dolly Parton’s “Dagger Through the Heart” for the tribute album “Just Because I’m a Woman” and released the compilation album “She Who Dwells in the Secret Place of the Most High Shall Abide Under the Shadow of the Almighty” before announcing her retirement.
O’Connor’s retirement didn’t last long, and in 2005, she released the reggae album “Throw Down Your Arms.” She then released 2007’s “Theology,” 2012’s “How About I Be Me (and You Be You)?,” and 2014’s “I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss.”
In 2014, Sinéad took part in the recording of the charity single “Do They Know It’s Christmas?,” which raised funds to fight the Ebola virus in Africa.
How did Sinead O’Connor die?
Sinead O’Connor died on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the age of 56.
The Irish singer, who shot to stardom in 1990 following her cover of then-unreleased Prince track Nothing Compares 2 U, passed away after years of mental health battles.
He death comes a year after the mother-of-four’s son Shane, 17, took his own life in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch. Details surrounding Sinead’s death remain unknown at this time.
In a statement her family said: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.’
Hopefully, this article was able to provide you with all the necessary information about Sinead O’Connor cause of death.
