The entertainment world has been rocked by news of Sinéad O’Connor’s tragic passing on Wednesday, July 26.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement to The Irish Times. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
O’Connor received critical acclaim and worldwide success for her music, but she also struggled with mental health issues and was the center of numerous controversies due to her outspoken political and social views.
In 1987 (when she was just 20) she recorded her first album, The Lion and the Cobra. The album charted worldwide and earned O’Connor a Grammy nomination. Slant Magazine and Pitchfork both listed it as one of the best albums of the 1980s, with Slant calling it “one of the most electrifying debuts in rock history” and Pitchfork praising the album’s “themes of patriotism, sexuality, Catholicism, and social oppression set the stage for a career marked by a resolute sense of independence.”
O’Connor’s follow-up album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, released in 1990, was her biggest success, and included her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” her most famous and highest-charting recording. It was named the “#1 World Single” of 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards and frequently ranks on lists of the greatest songs of all time.
British police discovered the singer “unresponsive” at her London home on Wednesday, and she was pronounced dead at the scene after they were called to respond. They said in a statement than an autopsy is currently being conducted, and it may take “several weeks” for the results to be available, delaying the determination of the official cause of death.
Though, authorities have reiterated that her death was not being treated as “suspicious”.
Shortly after O’Connor’s tragic death was announced, London Inner South Coroner’s Court confirmed that they would make a decision as to whether they will open an inquest after the results of the autopsy are known and following submissions from her relatives, according to the Daily Mirror.
Now that the autopsy has been completed, O’Connor’s body has just been released to her family, who are obviously still grieving her sudden passing.
Not long before her death, O’Connor sparked concern after tweeting about the tragic loss of her son – who died by suicide in January 2022 after going missing in Ireland.
The renowned singer used social media to share her struggles and the pain she experienced after her son’s death. She described feeling “lost” and referred to living as an “undead night creature” without him, emphasizing the profound bond they shared.
“Been living as undead night creature since.. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul,” O’Connor wrote of her son on Twitter. “We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him.”
As well as her son’s death, she publicly expressed thoughts of suicide on multiple occasions in recent years, including during a period when she went missing in Chicago in 2016.
Following the news of her passing, fellow musicians and celebrities took to social media to pay tribute to the legendary singer, remembering her for both her music and her advocacy work.
Our thoughts and prayers are with her family, friends, and fans at this truly difficult time.
