Sinead O'Connor's heartbreaking life from childhood abuse to son's tragic death
As fans of Sinead O'Connor learn the cause of her death, we take a look back on the talented singer-songwriter's often difficult life, from the tragic loss of her son to her traumatic childhood
Six months after her death at the age of just 56, a coroner has confirmed that beloved singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor passed away from natural causes.
On July 26, 2023, police were called to Sinead's flat in Herne Hill, south-east London, where the Dublin-born musician was found unresponsive, just 18 months after she lost her 17-year-old son Shane to suicide. In a statement made at the time, Met Police officers said they were not treating Sinead's death as suspicious.
An icon of music and activism, Sinead lived an extraordinary life, enjoying chart-topping success with her 1990 cover of Prince's Nothing Compares 2 U, while carving out one of the most distinctive and influential creative identities in the industry. Sadly, Sinead also had to deal with plenty of sorrow in her personal life, from her agonising grief over the loss of Shane, to her childhood filled with trauma and abuse.
Son's death
READ MORE: Sinead O'Connor was banned from Saturday Night Live after protesting the PopeOn Janaury 8, 2022, devastated mum Sinead revealed that son Shane had passed away, two days after a missing person's report was filed. In a heartbreaking tweet, she wrote: "My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."
While police searched for her lookalike son, who she'd previously shared was the most like her out of her four children, Sinead took to Twitter with a desperate plea for him to get in touch. She tweeted at the time: "Shane, your life is precious. God didn’t chisel that beautiful smile on your beautiful face for nothing. My world would collapse without you. You are my heart. Please don’t stop it from beating. Please don’t harm yourself. Go to the Gardai and let’s get you to hospital.
"This is a message for my son, Shane. Shane, it’s not funny any more all this going missing. You are scaring the crap out of me. Could you please do the right thing and present yourself at a Gardai station. If you are with Shane please call the Gardai for his safety."
Sinead later confirmed her son died by suicide. Shane was the son of Sinead and musician Donal Lunny, who split shortly after his birth in 2004. In her final social media post, the Irish songstress tweeted a picture of her late son alongside the caption: "Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul."
Multiple marriages
Sinead was married four times in total. Her first wedding, with record producer John Reynolds., took place in 1987, when she was just 21. The singer welcomed her first child Jake with John during their four-year marriage, and it's understood the pair remained close friends after their split.
Her second wedding day came in 2001, when she said 'I do' to journalist Nick Sommerlad. Unfortunately, this marriage also didn't work out, and by 2004 the pair had called it quits. Although she initially declared she'd never walk down the aisle again, Sinead changed her mind when she met musician Steve Cooney, who she married in 2010. This also wasn't to last however, and less than a year later, Sinead was single once more.
Sinead's fourth marriage took place in Las Vegas in December 2011 when she married psychotherapist Barry Herridge after just three months of dating. The couple only lasted a matter of days before calling it off, but were said to be prepared to exchange their vows again in 2014. It's unclear, however, if this ever took place.
Following her fourth and final divorce from Barry, the Irish music legend confessed she regretted ever getting married in the first place, admitting that she was attempting to feel like a 'normal' member of society in doing so. Sinead told the Irish Sun: "I think I was trying to be normal. Kind of like a gay person trying to insist on being straight. Of course there's nothing at all normal about marrying people you hardly f***ing know. Luckily they were nice guys. Thank f***."
Childhood trauma
Sinead was one of five children born to parents John and Marie O’Connor, and spoke candidly about the painful childhood she endured. She claimed later in life that her mum physically and sexually abused her as a child and said she was convinced her mother wanted to destroy her reproductive organs.
In an excerpt from her book titled Rememberings, the singer discussed her relationship with her mother and also opened up about living with her father at the age of 13, recalling how they would live like they were poor despite having money.
In her teenage years, Sined was arrested for shoplifting, explaining in her memoir that she was a kleptomaniac. Her addiction saw her sent to a Magdalene Asylum, which she described as a "prison" where the "girls cried every day". Her mum, who she blamed for much of her turmoil in her youth, died in a car accident when Sinead was 18. She later admitted she had forgiven her mum for her past.
Religion
In 2018, she converted to Islam, calling it 'the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey'. At the same time, she changed her name to Shuhada' Davitt.
Speaking on The Late Late Show in 2019, she said: ""The word 'revert' refers to the idea that if you were to study the Quran, you would realise you were a Muslim all your life, and you didn't realise it. And that is what happened to me."
For emotional support you can call the Samaritans 24-hour helpline on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org, visit a Samaritans branch in person or go to the Samaritans website.
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