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Sinéad O'Connor, a 56-year-old activist and singer from Ireland, passed away.
The singer's family released the following statement: "It is with deep sorrow that we announce the demise of our darling Sinéad.
Her family and friends are inconsolable and have asked for privacy at this extremely trying time.
She was best known for the 1990 single Nothing Compares 2 U, which peaked at number one on the international charts.
Leo Varadkar, the Taoiseach (Irish PM), paid homage to Diana, stating that her brilliance was "unmatched and beyond compare" and that her music "was loved around the world."
O'Connor was commended for her "authenticity" and "beautiful, unique voice" by Irish President Michael D. Higgins.
"One of Ireland's greatest and most talented composers, songwriters, and performers of recent decades, who had a special talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her, is what Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age," he added.
The singer had a challenging upbringing. She was born Sinead Marie Bernadette O'Connor in December 1966 in Glenageary, County Dublin.
She spent her adolescent years at Dublin's An Grianan Training Centre, which was formerly one of the notorious Magdalene Laundries and was built to house young girls who were believed to be promiscuous.
O'Connor's musical career began when a nun purchased her a guitar and connected her with a music tutor.
In 1987, she published The Lion And The Cobra, her debut album that received accolades and peaked at number 40 in both the UK and the US.
her response Nothing Compares 2 U was one of the songs included on I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.
The song, which was written by Prince, peaked at number one in several countries, including the US and the UK.
Between 1987 and 2014, O'Connor, who was vocal about her social and political opinions, produced 10 studio albums.
One of her most memorable performances was in 1992 on the US television programme Saturday Night Live, where she was a guest artist and tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II.
She said "fight the real enemy" to the camera after an acapella rendition of Bob Marley's War in an apparent attack on the Catholic Church.
Her actions led to protests against her in the US, when copies of her records were burnt in Times Square, and a lifetime ban from NBC broadcasting.
"I don't regret doing it. In a 2021 interview with the New York Times, she praised it as "brilliant."
The Dublin singer changed her name to Shuhada after converting to Islam in 2018, although she kept using her given name while performing.
Shane O'Connor, a 17-year-old son of O'Connor, passed away a few days after he went missing last year.
After his passing, she wrote on social media that he had "decided to end his earthly struggle" and asked that "no-one follows his example."
Due to her "continuing grief" at the loss of her son, the singer subsequently postponed all performances on stage for the remainder of 2022.
In one of her last tweets, O'Connor paid tribute to Shane, referring to him as "the love of my life, the lamp of my soul, we were one soul in two halves."
Following the singer's death announcement on Wednesday night, social media was inundated with condolences.
Dara O'Briain, an Irish comedian, stated of her passing: "That's simply extremely terrible news. It's a shame. I hope she was aware of the affection we had for her.
"Sinead was the true embodiment of a punk spirit," stated Charlatans musician Tim Burgess. Because she refused to make concessions, her life became increasingly difficult. I'm hoping she's discovered some tranquilly.
O'Connor's passing was deemed "heartbreaking" by Irish novelist Marian Keyes.
"How she endured pain. Sinead is so miserable. You brave, lovely, magnificent, and singular marvel, rest in peace.
Caitlin Moran, a journalist, said online: "She was courageous and decades ahead of her time. Queen, rest in power.
Mark Cousins, an Irish filmmaker, continued, "Sinead O'Connor was our Irish wild side. a significant portion of our imagined life.
O'Connor was referred to be one of Ireland's "greatest musical icons" by Deputy Prime Minister of Ireland (Tanaiste) Micheal Martin.
He expressed his "devastation to hear of [her] passing" in a tweet.
"One of our greatest musical icons, and he is adored both inside and outside of Ireland. Our thoughts and prayers are with her children, family, friends, and everyone else who knew and loved her.
Nobody sang as well as Sinead O'Connor. No-one.
Each note she played shouted with unrestrained passion. Prince's sugary song Nothing Compares 2 U was transformed by her into an incredibly painful and heartbreaking wail.
She shared those feelings with them. Her early life was tragic. Her mother, who she subsequently claimed had molested her, died in a car accident in 1985, and her parents were divorced when she was eight years old.
She was detained at a Magdalene Asylum as a teenager after being caught shoplifting; she later referred to the facility as a "prison" where "girls cried every day."
Her music reflects all of those traumatic events as well as those still to come. I Am Stretched On Your Grave, from her debut album, is a heartbreakingly beautiful song about love and grief, while Three Babies, also from that album, bared her agony after many miscarriages.
She also absorbed the suffering of others. Her first hit song, Mandinka, included subtle allusions to female genital cutting. Two years before to the LA riots, the 1990 film Black Boys On Mopeds exposed police violence against black men.
She was a divisive character, yet her complaints were always delivered with love. She wasn't thinking about her image when she tore up a photo of the Pope on US television; instead, she was thinking about abuse victims.
Her latter CDs included hymns to community and peace as well as appearances by her own children. She received a classic record award in Ireland earlier this year and gave it to the nation's refugee population as a dedication.
There Is No Comparison Unbeknownst to her, a song called "U" made her famous. She had a voice that screamed to be heard and was at her core a protest singer. That is how we ought to recall her.
Source:
- https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-66318626