Sinéad O’Connor (Shuhada’ Sadaqat) has been remembered as somebody who managed to “change pain into beauty”, by her friend Liam Ó Maonlaí.
The life of the Irish singer was celebrated at a private ceremony by family and friends before the funeral cortege travelled past her former home in Bray, Co Wicklow so thousands of fans could pay their respects before a private burial.
Singer Bob Geldof, Irish president Michael Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar were also in attendance, where Muslim funeral prayers were led by Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic scholar and Chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, who met the star in 2018, the same year she converted to Islam.
Sinéad O’Connor’s friends have shared moving tributes to her on the day of her funeral(
In a eulogy he shared online after the ceremony, Dr Umar Al-Qadri said: “The more she sang and spoke about her own pain, as well as about the pervasive sins in society that she witnessed, the more her voice and her words resonated with listeners and touched their hearts. Sinead never stopped her search to know God fully, exemplifying a life marked with a deep communion with God.
“Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.” He added: “I know that peoples of all faiths throughout the world will be praying for this beloved daughter of Ireland, among them will be countless Muslims praying for their sister in faith and humanity.
“Sinead’s voice carried with it an undertone of hope, of finding one’s way home. The Irish people have long found solace in song from the sufferings of this lower abode, and Sinead was no exception, and in sharing that solace, she brought joy to countless people the world over.” He continued: “May her family and loved ones find solace in the outpouring of love from the corners of this earth for this unique daughter of Ireland who moved so many hearts with her mighty voice and unflinching honesty as an artist, poet, and human being.
Thousands lined the streets to say goodbye to Sinéad (
“Sinead had a poet’s heart and, I believe, would share with us today the sentiments of the poet, Rumi when he said: ‘This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief’.”
Roads were closed so fans could line the streets to pay their respects as the hearse bearing O’Connor’s coffin passed by her former home on the seafront. As it stopped outside the property, Montebello, in the seaside town where she lived for 15 years, there was a moment of silence but for the rest of the procession, fans applauded and threw flowers. The coffin itself was covered in blue and pink flowers.
A Volkswagen camper van decorated with the Pride flag and the Rastafarian flag drove in front of the hearse, with O’Connor’s songs playing from speakers mounted on the roof including her biggest hit from 1990, Nothing Compares 2 U. Fans, some who travelled from around the world, started gathering early in the morning outside the home to wait for the cortege to pass by.
Liam Ó Maonlaí, a friend of Sinéad’s paid tribute while outside her former home(
Karnamrita Dasi, 49, a singer from San Francisco, booked a flight to Ireland as soon as she heard the news of the Irish performer’s death. She visited tributes to O’Connor around Dublin and her former Irish home in the Co Wicklow town of Bray before taking part in the gathering for the funeral procession on Tuesday, singing her hits and sharing colourful roses with other well-wishers to throw on the hearse.
“The first time I heard it (news of O’Connor’s death), I didn’t believe it and I knew I had to be with people who felt as powerfully as I did about how much of an impact she made,” she said. “It feels these days like people say rest in peace on social media, and that’s the end of someone’s remembrance. I wanted to be here to offer more than that because she gave so much to me as a young girl and my generation.”
Isabelle Ferrer travelled from Dijon in France to say farewell to the singer. Speaking outside Sinead O’Connor’s former home on Tuesday morning, she told BBC News NI the singer was her “favourite ever”. “Representing women, she was far ahead of her time, a long ago,” she said.
Sir Bob Geldof (centre) attended the service for his late friend
Bono and Edge were also in attendance
Liam Ó Maonlaí, the lead singer of Irish band Hothouse Flowers, said Sinead O’Connor would be remembered as “a great artist”. She was “willing to shake the tree a little bit, to hold a mirror up to this so-called society that we’re in”, he said, “but was also somebody who changed pain into beauty”.
Despite being in Bray to pay his respects because he was friends with his fellow singer – that didn’t mean he was spared her famously direct opinions. “She was ballsy, you know,” he told the BBC. “She came to our first gig in London and she didn’t like it. She thought I was a poser, and she made it publicly known. But then she apologised to me. She was great fun, and rooted in what music means to the human identity,” he added.
Many fans laid flowers and handwritten notes, thanking O’Connor for sharing her voice and her music. One note said: “You are forever in my heart.” A pink chair was placed outside the pink-framed conservatory of the house, with pink flowers, candles and a photo of the singer placed at the base of the chair.
Campaigners for victims of church and state abuse also remembered Sinéad who was extremely vocal about abuse which was taking place and covered up(
A heart-shaped floral bouquet featured a picture of the star and two Irish flags. One sign left at the wall of the property listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees. It read: “Where words fail, music speaks.”
A neighbour was also seen putting candles on the wall that separated the two properties. Since O’Connor’s death on July 26, people have been leaving flowers and paying their respects at the house, which the singer sold in 2021 and now lies empty.
The Grammy Award-winner was found unresponsive on July 26 by police at her south-east London home at the age of 56. At the time, a coroner’s court said no medical cause of death was given and a post-mortem would be conducted.
A picture of Sinéad was displayed by her coffin(
The results could take “several weeks” and a decision on whether an inquest will be needed will be decided when they are known, the court added. President Michael D Higgins issued a statement after confirming he was attending the funeral yesterday.
He said: “The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinead O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people. “The unique contribution of Sinead involved the experience of a great vulnerability combined with a superb, exceptional level of creativity that she chose to deliver through her voice, her music and her songs.
“The expression of both, without making any attempt to reduce the one for the sake of the other, made her contribution unique – phenomenal in music terms, but of immense heroism. However, achieving this came from the one heart and the one body and the one life, which extracted an incredible pain, perhaps one too much to bear. That is why all those who are seeking to make a fist of their life, combining its different dimensions in their own way, can feel so free to express their grief at her loss.”
O’Connor is survived by three children, Jake, Roisin and Yeshua.
