Sinéad O'Connor was hailed as a beacon of hope who led a tortured life at her private Muslim funeral.
Sinéad O'Connor was hailed as a beacon of hope who led a tortured life at her private Muslim funeral
The ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer was laid to rest on Tuesday (08.08.23) morning in her native Ireland after her death on 26 July in London aged 56, and was given a traditional Muslim burial after her 2018 conversion to the religion.
Sinéad’s eulogy, read by Imam Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, said she had suffered more than “her share of hardship and adversity”.
He added to mourners – who included the singer’s family as well as the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, along with stars including Bono, the Edge and Sir Bob Geldof: “Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.
“Sinéad’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.”
Sinéad’s family had asked people who wished to say a final farewell to stand along the seafront of the singer’s former home in Co Wicklow as the cortege passed by around lunchtime – to the sound of Bob Marley and the Wailers' Natural Mystic.
Thousands of her fans wept, sang and cheered as a VW campervan playing Bob Marley and her hits led the black hearse carrying Sinéad’s remains, on which mourners laid flowers as it inched through the crowd.
At least 5,000 people gathered in her home town to mourn the star with many sobbing while singing ‘Nothing Compares to U’ in a moving final farewell.
Mum-of-four Sinéad, whose death came 18 months after her 17-year-old son Shane’s suicide, was found dead in her penthouse flat in south-east London and her cause of death has not yet been revealed.
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