Entertainment

Ireland reacts to the death of Sinead O'Connor

Sinead O’Connor in 1998 (Peter Jordan/PA)
Sinead O’Connor in 1998 (Peter Jordan/PA)
By Jenny Lee

Politicians, broadcasters, sports stars and fellow musicians have all joined in paying tribute to Sinead O'Connor, following her death yesterday at the age of 56.

Musician Phil Coulter said Sinead O’Connor had one of the finest voices Ireland had ever produced.

“She had a God-given instrument, a God-given voice, certainly one of the finest voices this country has ever produced,” the Derry songwriter told the BBC.

“I am very fortunate in my long career, I have worked with some of the best singers around, some major talents, but I would put Sinead O’Connor high up there.

“Her ability to inhabit a song was a songwriter’s dream, her ability to connect with people, whether it be in a darkened studio with just herself on the mic and me on the piano, or on stage with a full house but a hushed silence as she song something a cappella unaccompanied, and she had that audience in the palm of her hand – that is the sort of ability, that antenna she had was just exceptional.

“She was a complicated girl, of course she was and she had her own demons but I firmly believe she was at her most contented when she was singing.

“I hope right now she has finally found peace.”

President Michael D Higgins described Sinead as "one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades".

Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill said: "Ireland has lost one of our most powerful and successful singer, songwriter and female artists."

Some musicians were live on stage when they found out the news of her passing. Irish musician Hozier told the audience: "It's very hard to quantify her truth and honesty. I stand here as an artist on the roads she paved".

Singer-songwriter Damien Rice was performing in Spain, when someone in the crowd shouted that Sinead O'Connor had passed away. He looked visibly shaken and after a brief moments of quite contemplation burst into an acoustic version of Nothing Compares To You.

Tim Burgess, the lead singer of alt rock band The Charlatans has referred to the singer as the "true embodiment of a punk spirit. She did not compromise and that made her life more of a struggle."

Read more: 

  • Sinéad O’Connor: Nothing Compares doc by Belfast director Kathryn Ferguson coming to TV on Saturday night
  • A Fairytale of how The Pogues frontman Shane Magowan and Kirsty MacColl created a Christmas classic
  • Why did Sinéad O'Connor rip up a picture of the Pope?

Sinead O’Connor’s former teacher at Newtown Secondary School in Waterford, Joe Falvey, still has the artist’s first demo tape.O’Connor credited Mr Falvey with encouraging her career in music.“She was a very special person in my life, having met her and we struck up this rapport."Mr Falvey, speaking with Oliver Callan on RTÉ Radio 1 said the singer had a “powerful spirit”.“She was so pure, she was so genuine and so real,” he said.“There was no compromising. I was always proud of her. And I was very pleased that when she did her biography, I’m the only teacher she mentioned.”The band Aslan, who lead singer Christy Dignam died in June,  collaborated with O'Connor on Up In Arms in 2001. 

A post on the band's Facebook page read: "Two Legends taken from us so closely together... No words... Rest in Peace Sinéad."

Irish singer Mary Black said Sinead O’Connor sang with “such truth”.“Every word she sang in any song you felt she meant it from the bottom of her heart, and she had that sort of brilliant raw talent that came out no matter what song she sang,” she told RTE.“It was in old ballads that she might sing, or it could be a hymn, and any of her songs she never just sang, she gave it her whole soul and heart and I think that’s what made it special, so special.”Black added: “She was fragile and fearful but fearless as well, in that when she felt something was wrong or when she felt she needed to speak she would speak and that was an unusual trait in a woman, particularly going back 10, 15, 20 years when she was starting out.“So, you know, it was something that other women began to admire and say ‘My God, how strong is she? You know maybe we can be more like that’.”The Pogues singer Shane MacGowan, who is currently in hospital, joined with his wife Victoria Mary Clarke in saying: "We don't really have words for this but we want to thank you Sinéad for your love and your friendship and your compassion and your humour and your incredible music."In a number of tweets, she posted a clip of Sinead and her husband singing Haunted.

Theatre, including the Gate Theatre Dublin, where a performance of the Tony Award-winning musical Fun House was being performed, paid tribute to the singer with a final applause. 

Sinead O’Connor’s death represents not just a loss of a great musician, but also of a “warm, engaging” and open person, a music journalist has said.Paul Nolan, contributing editor at Irish music magazine Hot Press, said the singer would call in at their old Dublin offices in the mid to late 1980s.“People found her a really warm and engaging person to deal with. So I think it’s kind of a dual loss for people – losing a great artist but also someone people just had a great affection for and time for as well.”He told Newstalk radio: “Sinead was one of those artists and public figures who was really open about different areas she would explore, different avenues she would go down, whether it was religion or politics.“John Lennon was a bit like that as well.“I think people really responded to that: it could be abrasive, raw, or sometimes jarringly awkward.”Late Late Show host Patrick Kielty said: "Just hearbreaking. She was the truth way before most of us knew where to look. Rest in peace, Sinead." 

Mixed martial arts fighter Conor McGregor said "the world has lost an artist with the voice of an angel".

In a tweet, McGregor, who O’Connor once sang into the ring for a UFC fight in Las Vegas, wrote: "The world has lost an artist with the voice of an Angel.

Sinéad O'Connor sang The Foggy Dew as McGregor entered the ring in his 2015 fight in Las Vegas.

"Ireland has lost an iconic voice and one of our absolute finest, by a long shot. And I have lost a friend. Sinéad’s music will live on and continue to inspire. Rest In Peace, Sinéad you are home with your son I am sure," he added.