Sinead O'Connor faced criticism from Sinatra after 1990 Garden State Arts Center show

Sinead O’Connor, who passed away Wednesday, July 26, at the age of 56 according to the BBC, was a political firebrand whose actions caused a flashpoint at the Jersey Shore.

In 1990, the Irish singer made headlines when she insisted that the National Anthem not be played prior to her performance at the Garden State Arts Center, now known as the PNC Bank Arts Center, in Holmdel.

“I sincerely harbor no disrespect for America or Americans, but I have a policy of not having any national anthems played before my concerts in any country, not even my own, because they have nothing to do with music in general,” said O’Connor at the time.

She was vilified for her stance, and leading the chorus against her was Hoboken native Frank Sinatra, who played the arts center in the days after O'Connor's performance.

“She should leave the country. Her behavior is unforgivable,” said Sinatra. “For her sake, we’d better never meet.’

Sinatra’s comments were met with thunderous applause, according to the Associated Press.

After the incident, then Gov. Jim Florio mandated that the National Anthem must be played at arts center events. The arts center is owned by the state and now operated by Live Nation.

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O'Connor, who's hits included “Nothing Compares 2 U,” Mandinka” and “Troy,” was a magnet for controversy in the '80s and '90s, standing out in an era when musical artists were more apt to conform, unlike today.

O'Connor tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II while singing Bob Marley's “War” in protest of child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. Radio stations pulled her songs, and she was loudly booed during a Bob Dylan tribute concert at Madison Square Garden weeks later.

In subsequent years, child sex abuse was acknowledged as a problem in the Catholic Church, and Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI and Francis all apologized for the abuses and the church's inaction.

Sinead O'Connor struggled with mental health

In 2017, away from the concert stage, O'Connor surfaced at a Travelodge motel in Hackensack battling mental illness and a kidney stone.

“I’m all by myself and there’s absolutely nobody in my life except my doctor, my psychiatrist, the sweetest man on earth, who says I’m his hero, and that’s about the only thing keeping me alive at the moment … and that’s kind of pathetic,” said O’Connor on social media. “I want everyone to know what it’s like, that’s why I’m making this video.”

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O’Connor stated that she had bipolar disorder on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” in 2007, yet years later on the show she said she wasn’t bipolar. In 2016, O’Connor was reported missing by her son Jake Reynolds, but she was later found at a hotel.

O’Connor’s 17-year-old son, Shane, died by suicide in January 2022. O'Connor posted a series of troubling messages to her Twitter account in the weeks following his death, writing, “I’ve decided to follow my son. There’s no point living without him.”

Shane was one of O’Connor’s four children. O'Connor's cause of death has not been disclosed as of press time.

Contributing: Patrick Ryan and Melissa Ruggieri, USA Today.

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Chris Jordan, a Jersey Shore native, covers entertainment and features for the USA Today Network New Jersey. Contact him at @chrisfhjordan; cjordan@app.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Sinead O'Connor faced criticism from Sinatra after NJ show