Sinéad O'Connor: Irish Music Icon With Fiery Temperament & Irresistible Voice Is Dead At 56

Ireland’s Sinéad O'Connor was best known for her 1990 single “Nothing Compares 2 U” and for tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live in 1992 to protest child abuse by the Catholic Church - two events that would prove pivotal in her life and career.

A cause of death has not been announced, according to a variety of news outlets including The Irish Times. She was 56 years old.

SNL And The Pope

After tearing up a photo of the Pope, which apparently belonged to O’Connor’s mother with whom she had a difficult relationship, she proceeded to do an acapella performance of Bob Marley's "War" and then looked straight into the camera and said, "fight the real enemy." 

As a result, she was banned for life by NBC. Despite protests against her in the U.S. and abroad, O’Connor never displayed a moment of regret.

"I'm not sorry I did it. It was brilliant," she said in an interview with the New York Times in 2021. 

“A lot of people say or think that tearing up the pope’s photo derailed my career,” she wrote in her 2021 memoir Rememberings. “That’s not how I feel about it. I feel that having a No. 1 record derailed my career and my tearing the photo put me back on the right track.”

In a way she was right.

Born in Glenageary, County Dublin in December 1966, O’Connor had a difficult childhood. As a teen, she was placed in Dublin's An Grianan Training Center, once one of the notorious Magdalene laundries, set up for young girls viewed as promiscuous.

A nun bought her a guitar and set her up with a music teacher, which led to the launch of O'Connor's musical career.

She released her first critically acclaimed album The Lion And The Cobra in 1987 followed by I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, which included Nothing Compares 2 U, written by Prince. 

Her Son's Death

O'Connor suffered the heartbreaking loss of her 17-year-old son Shane in 2022 after which she cancelled her live shows for the year.

Irish Leadership 

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said O’Connor’s music "was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched.”

Irish President Michael D Higgins called O’Connor’s death a loss for Ireland and the world.

"What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her," Higgins said.

In 1991, O’Connor was named Artist of the Year by Rolling Stone magazine and took home the Brit Award for international female solo artist, per the BBC.