Irish pop singer Sinead O’Connor, who died Wednesday at the age of 56, was found “unconscious” at a London home, British police said Thursday, adding that her death “is not considered suspicious.”
“The police received a call at 11:18 a.m. (10:18 a.m. GMT) on Wednesday, July 26. to report an unconscious female at a residential address in the SE24 area“, a postal code in the south-east of the British capital, reported Scotland Yard.
“A 56-year-old woman was declared dead at the scene (…) The death is not considered suspicious,” he added without specifying his name, as dictated by police regulations in the United Kingdom.
The family of the singer, born in County Dublin and author of 10 albums, He had announced his death the day before to the Irish media.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and ask for privacy at this very difficult time,” they said in a statement carried by Irish public broadcaster RTE.
O’Connor achieved world fame in 1990 with the song “Nothing Compares 2 U”, written by Prince. His first two albums, “The Lion and the Cobra” and “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got” were huge commercial successes.
The Irish woman, who in 2018 announced her conversion to Islam, It also gave rise to a series of controversies.
She said that she had been mistreated by her mother during her childhood and strongly criticized the Catholic Church, which she accused of failing to protect child victims of sexual abuse at the hands of clergymen. In 1992 she tore up a portrait of Pope John Paul II on American television.
In 1999 she was the subject of another controversy when a dissident Irish church ordained her as a priestess.
Recognizable by her shaved head, the singer gradually disappeared from the spotlight, although in 2005 she returned with her reggae album “Throw Down Your Arms”, after having lived for a period in Jamaica and experimenting with Rastafarian beliefs. The last published work of hers was “I’m not Bossy, I’m the Boss” in 2014.
– ‘Courageous commitment’, ‘unrivaled talent’ –
In recent years, O’Connor has expanded on social media, threatening his former partners with prosecution, and talking about his physical and mental health problems and even his suicidal thoughts and his diagnosis of bipolarity.
In 2022, their 17-year-old son Shane took his own life. O’Connor, who has three other children, had to be hospitalized after claiming on social media that she too was considering suicide.
At the beginning of July, she could be seen in a video posted on a Twitter social network account, now renamed X, where she claimed to want to prove that she was the owner of said account and talked about her grief after her son’s suicide.
Also mentioned that he had moved to London and, after 23 years of absence, he claimed to want to finish a new album.
From political leaders to renowned musicians, tributes to the singer have not ceased since the announcement of her death.
Ireland’s President Michael Higgins praised O’Connor’s “courageous commitment to the important issues he brought to public attention, no matter how uncomfortable those truths.”
“O’Connor’s music was appreciated throughout the world and his talent was unmatched and without comparison,” Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said.
Singer Cat Stevens, who also converted to Islam, called O’Connor “a tender soul,” while writer Bonnie Greer described her voice as “Irish to the core.”
The list of people who expressed their condolences included American rapper and actor Ice T and Irish martial arts superstar Conor McGregor.
“The world has lost an artist with the voice of an angel”, regretted the latter.