Mourners Gather in Ireland to Say Goodbye to Sinéad O’Connor
Fans gathered in the streets of Bray, Ireland to pay their respects to the late Sinéad O’Connor on Tuesday. The coastal town south of Dublin is the location of her last family home in Ireland, and as is an old tradition, her coffin was first carried past her former home, The New York Times reports.
O’Connor was remembered both for her music as well as her humanity. Fans left handwritten notes and tributes at her former home, including signs that read “BLACK LIVES MATTER,” “GAY PRIDE,” AND “REFUGEES WELCOME.” “Thanks for your short special life,” one note read, via Associated Press. “Gone too soon.”
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Others were abuse survivors who wanted to pay tribute to O’Connor for advocating and sharing her own traumatic experiences. Dave Sharp told The Times that he had spent years in care homes and been the victim of abuse. He traveled to Bray from Glasgow on Monday.
“We didn’t have much notice, but I’d promised myself that I’d be there for her,” he said. “Sinéad O’Connor is one of the bravest women I’ve ever known of. She not only put her life and career on the line, but she was ahead of her time.”
The funeral procession passed the home around noon, following a private memorial service. As motorcycles leading the cortege neared the home, the procession halted, and those gathered tossed flowers on the hearse. Thousands gathered to pay their respects.
O’Connor, 56, was found unresponsive at her London home on July 26. A cause of death has not yet been provided. O’Connor converted to Islam in 2018 and received a Muslim burial on Tuesday. While the funeral was private, O’Connor’s family invited the public to Bray to pay their respects.
“Sinéad loved living in Bray and the people in it,” her family said in a statement. “With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her from the people of Wicklow (county) and beyond, since she left … to go to another place.”
The funeral was conducted by Sheikh Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic scholar and chief imam at the Islamic Center of Ireland. He shared his eulogy following the ceremony.
“Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance. One need only listen to her a cappella version of ‘O Danny Boy’ or the traditional Irish tune ‘Molly Malone’ to know this about her gift,” he shared. “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 also spoke of her faith. “Sinéad suffered more than her share of hardship and adversity, especially in her formative years, much of it from adults and institutions she revered, and yet she displayed an unflinching and resolute faith in the divine,” he said.
The president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, attended the funeral with his wife, Sabrina. In a statement on Tuesday, he described the “profound impact” that Ms. O’Connor had had on the Irish people. He lauded her “immense heroism” while noting the pain it also caused her. “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.”
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