Sinead O’Connor Dead at 56 Over a Year After Son’s Tragic Passing

Irish singer Sinead O’Connor has died. She was 56 years old. The Irish Times reported the sad news but did not provide a cause of death. O’Connor is survived by three children. Her death comes more than a year after the tragic passing of her 17-year-old son, Shane.

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1966, O’Connor grew up one of five children. Sadly, she lost her mother to a car accident in 1985 just before her music career took off. In the 1990s, O’Connor soared to stardom with her song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” originally written by Prince. The track was a massive hit and launched to the top of the charts around the world. Throughout her many years in the music industry, O’Connor released 11 studio albums, with a 12th reportedly finished prior to her death.

O’Connor had a deeply compelling musical career and was occasionally the center of controversy over her strong opinions. Perhaps the most widely-known instance came when she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. The show’s staff had no prior knowledge she intended to do this, and she later stated she meant it as a protest against the Catholic Church refusing to address priests abusing children. Many years later, the Pope would publicly acknowledge that the church had been aware of the abuse.

As previously noted, O’Connor’s death comes more than a year after her son Shane died by suicide in January 2022. The unimaginable loss was understandably hard on O’Connor and, at one point, she tweeted out a photo of the two of them and wrote alongside it: “Beenliving as undeadnight creature since. . He was thelove of my life, thelamp of my soul.We were one soul in two halves. He was the only personwho ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him.”

Following the news of her death, many have taken to social media to pay tribute to O’Connor, with screenwriter Brian Lynch writing on Twitter, “Sinead O’Connor has passed.What a voice.Her solo work is great, her cover of Prince’s NOTHING COMPARES 2 U is legendary.She’s all over my favorite album of all time, Peter Gabriel’s US. May she rest in peace.”

Another fan added, “Farewell to one of the greatest Irish musicians of all time. Sinead O’Connor had the balls to stand up and challenge the Catholic Church at a time most didn’t. A prolific social campaigner. Gone way too young. RIP Sinead.”