Irish coastal village prepares for ‘a last goodbye’ to singer Sinead O’Connor
Sinead O’Connor’s family has invited people to line the seafront at Bray in County Wicklow and say “a last goodbye” during her funeral procession.
The 56-year-old Grammy-winning artist was found unresponsive when police were called to her home in southeast London on 28 July.
The cortege will travel from Harbour Bar to Strand Road, pausing briefly at the home on Strand Road, Montebello, where she lived for 15 years.
In a statement, her relatives said: “Sinead loved living in Bray and the people in it.
“With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her from the people of County Wicklow and beyond, since she left last week to go to another place.
“The Gardai (police) have asked that people gather, if they would like to say a last goodbye to the singer, from 10.30am on Tuesday along the Bray seafront.”
She continued to perform and record as Sinead O’Connor but changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat following her conversion to Islam in 2018.
The singer’s spell-binding version of the Prince hit ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ instantly propelled her to global stardom in 1990.
But she gained as much notoriety for her fierce stance on social and political issues, most notably the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
Long before the scale of the issue came to light, she controversially tore up a picture of the Pope on an American chat show.
Her death is not being treated as suspicious, and details of the port-mortem will not be released unless an inquest is ordered.
O’Connor is survived by three of her four children – Jake, Roisin and Yeshua. Her 17-year-old son Shane died by suicide last year.
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.