After Sinead O’Connor’s death at the age of 56 was announced on Wednesday, her colleagues, friends and fans took to social media to offer their tributes.
Many of those honouring the Irish singer, who famously covered Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U and also went by Shuhada Sadaqat in recent years, were well-known names from show business.
Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s prime minister, similarly paid his respects to O’Connor, saying that “her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”
Although many of the celebrity tributes appeared on Twitter (aka X), Outlander star Caitriona Balfe honoured the singer with an Instagram post.
The death of Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor has prompted many people to revisit her most controversial moment – and her later thoughts on how it defined her career in a “beautiful fucking way”.
O’Connor became a music industry pariah after appearing on the late-night US comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1992,
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A critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations of sexual abuse were widely reported, she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II during the live television appearance.
“Fight the real enemy,” the 26-year-old said as she tore the photo, which was met with a deafening silence from the studio audience.
in 1992, sinead o’connor shocked the producers of SNL when at the end of her performance, she tore up a photo of the pope to protest child sex abuse in the church. her career was totally derailed and the church’s abuse did not re-enter the national spotlight for another 10 years pic.twitter.com/MwfO73qSZv
Thirty years later and this remarkable moment has lost none of its power. Sinéad was protesting the covering up of sex crimes by the Catholic Church. Imagine the courage it took to do this live on US television. And she was right. All along, she was right. pic.twitter.com/WbUmRBBLRW
During the dress rehearsal, she held up “a photo of a Brazilian street kid who was killed by cops” instead, so no-one knew what was coming.
The next week, Joe Pesci hosted Saturday Night Live, held up a repaired photo of the Pope and said if he had been on the show with O’Connor he “would have gave her such a smack”.
Days later, she appeared at an all-star tribute for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden and was immediately booed. Although consoled and encouraged on stage by her friend Kris Kristofferson, she left and broke down. Her a capella performance of Bob Marley’s War – which was a choice made as the cacophony of boos rained down – was kept off the concert record.
<img class="img-sized__img portrait" loading="lazy" alt="Sinead O’Connor stands alone amidst boos in 1992 in New York City.” width=”720″ height=”1080″ src=”https://www.wellnessmaster.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/sinead-oconnor-thought-tearing-up-the-popes-picture-defined-her-career-in-a-beautiful-fing-way-2.jpg”>
Sinead O’Connor stands alone amidst boos in 1992 in New York City.
via Associated Press
There were protests and death threats, and a bulldozer was used to flatten a pile of her records in Times Square. It led to O’Connor – still fresh off the global success of Nothing Compares 2 U two years earlier – being effectively blacklisted, as she acknowledged in an interview the Guardian almost 30 years later.
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Asked whether the moment had defined her career, she told the newspaper in 2021: “Yes, in a beautiful fucking way. There was no doubt about who this bitch is. There was no more mistaking this woman for a pop star.
“But it was not derailing; people say, ‘Oh, you fucked up your career’ but they’re talking about the career they had in mind for me. I fucked up the house in Antigua that the record company dudes wanted to buy. I fucked up their career, not mine.
“It meant I had to make my living playing live, and I am born for live performance.”
In 2010, Pope Benedict apologised to the victims of child sex abuse by Catholic priests in Ireland.
The quote was being shared widely on social media in the aftermath of her death, aged 56.
i feel like this statement from Sinead O’Connor is required reading for anyone who has ever seen video of her “controversial” SNL appearance where she ripped up the picture of the pope to protest the church’s child sex abuse scandals https://t.co/mqVYhRTLb6
Sinéad O’Connor has announced that her 17-year-old son Shane has died.
The singer shared the tragic news in the early hours of Saturday morning, two days after the teenager – whose father is Irish folk musician Dónal Lunny – was reported as missing.
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“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,” she wrote.
“May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.”
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In a subsequent tweet, Sinéad again described Shane as the “light of my life”.
“You will always be my light,” she said. “We will always be together. No boundary can separate us.”
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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:
This is for my Shaney. The light of my life. The lamp of my soul. My blue-eye baby. You will always be my light. We will always be together. No boundary can separate us. https://t.co/7b2f0GFDEO
The Irish police force An Garda Síochána had been appealing for information after Shane went missing from an area in Dublin, Ireland on 6 January.
A spokesperson has since confirmed to the Irish Examiner: “Following the recovery of a body in the Bray area of Wicklow on Friday, 7 January 2022, a Missing Person Appeal in respect of Shane O’Connor, 17 years, has been stood down.
“An Garda Síochána would like to thank the media and public for their assistance in this matter. No further action is required and no further information is available at this time.”
Help and support:
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Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.
