DUBLIN, IRELAND: Sinead O'Connor who became an international sensation in 1990 has died at the age of 56. The legendary songwriter who changed her name to Shuhada' Sadaqat following her conversion to Islam in 2018 reportedly died on Tuesday, July 25.
The death of the Irish singer who rose to fame through the rendition of 'Nothing Compares 2 U' comes 18 months after the tragic death of her 17-year-old son. According to Daily Mail, her son Shane died by suicide after he escaped Dublin's Tallaght Hospital in January 2022 while he was on suicide watch.
How did Sinead O'Connor die?
The cause of death behind the singer's death has not been revealed. O'Connor, the third of five children, was born on December 8, 1996, and had a troubled family. The musician later talked about her life in Dublin with her family and claimed that after her mother physically and sexually assaulted her as a child, she started developing mental health issues.
O'Connor was placed in a Magdalene asylum for 18 months after she was caught shoplifting and for absenteeism from school at the age of 15. Her mother died in a car accident when she was 18. The singer revealed more about her parent's abuse in a public letter she wrote to The Irish Times in 1993. "If only I can fight off the voices of my parents, and gather a sense of self-esteem, then I'll be able to sing," she wrote.
The singer who gave her first hit album 'The Lion and the Cobra' which was released in 1987 and earned her a Best Female Rock Vocal Performance Grammy nomination opened up about her mental health struggles on 'The Oprah Winfrey Show' in 2007. She revealed that she had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and said she had attempted suicide in 1999 on her 33rd birthday.
In 2012, she announced on her website that she suffered a breakdown towards the end of 2011 and had been "very unwell." However, the singer stated in 2014 that she was not bipolar and blamed the lack of hormone-replacement therapy following a hysterectomy as the reason behind her mental state.
Connor's emotional tweet about her son was her last social media post
In her last social media post, O'Connor shared a picture of her son Shane and tweeted, "Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul," and added, "We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him."
At the time of Shane's death, the heartbroken mother tweeted, "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 added, "May he rest in peace, and may no one follow his example—my baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace." O'Connor who has three children was married four times.
