Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has died after a long mental health struggle, just 18 months after her son died by suicide at the age of 17. She was 56 years old.
The singer, whose cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” was named the number one world single in 1990 at the Billboard Music Awards, also received the inaugural award for Classic Irish Album at the RTÉ Choice Music Awards. She released ten studio albums throughout her career.
When she accepted the award, she dedicated it to “each and every member of Ireland’s refugee community,” adding, “You’re very welcome in Ireland. I love you very much and I wish you happiness.”
The singer made waves in 1992, calling out allegations of pedophilia in the Catholic Church by tearing a photo of then Pope John Paul II during an appearance on “Saturday Night Live” – and she later converted to Islam in 2018, changing her name to Shuhada Sadaqat, according to The Irish Times.
O’Connor opened up in her 2021 memoir about her traumatic childhood — and years of abuse she said came from her mother. “My mother had this obsession with destroying my womb,” O’Connor said at the time, noting that she was beaten and kicked in the abdomen sometimes daily.
The singer said she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder as well as complex post-traumatic stress disorder and borderline personality disorder – but that she eventually was able to find peace with regard to her upbringing.
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“I manage very well because I’ve been taught brilliant skills. There was a lot of therapy. It’s about focusing on the things that bring you peace as opposed to what makes you feel unstable … I was so busy surviving [the abuse] that I didn’t have time to feel any of the feelings. You learn to live with it, but what helped me live with it was to forgive my mother,” she said.
Following her son Shane’s death in 2022 and several social media posts that frightened fans, O’Connor was briefly hospitalized. “I’ve decided to follow my son. There is no point living without him. Everything I touch, I ruin. I only stayed for him. And now he’s gone,” she allegedly wrote at the time, using an unverified Twitter account linked to hers.
She later apologized, adding, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I am with cops now on way to hospital. I’m sorry I upset everyone. I am lost without my kid and I hate myself. Hospital will help a while. But I’m going to find Shane. This is just a delay.”
No official cause of death has yet been reported.
O’Connor is survived by her three remaining children: Jake, Roisin, and Yeshua.
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