Sinéad O’Connor Dead at 56

The music world is mourning the loss of a superstar.

Sinéad O'Connor, the Grammy-nominated singer whose music career spanned over 10 studio albums, one of which included her 1990 hit single, "Nothing Compares 2 U," died on July 26 at age of 56, her family confirmed to RTE.

"It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad," their statement shared July 26 read. "Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time."

The singer's death comes more than one year after the passing of her 17-year-old son, Shane, who died after being reported missing following his admission to an Irish hospital.

"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," Sinéad wrote on Twitter in January 2022. "May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace."

Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1966, O'Connor's music career kicked off in the '80s, with the singer forming a band alongside Colm Farrelly. In 1987, she released her debut album The Lion and the Cobra.

But it was her sophomore record I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got that received praise from critics and earned the singer a worldwide fanbase. In fact, the album's lead single written by Prince, "Nothing Compares 2 U," would become a standout hit, later hailed as the number one single of 1990 in several countries. The singer would receive numerous accolades throughout her career including Grammy nominations for her lead single, as well for Year of the Horse two years later.

Throughout her life O'Connor spoke openly about her mental health struggles. In 2007, she shared that she diagnosed with bipolar disorder years earlier and had attempted suicide on her 33rd birthday.

Eight years later, as she revealed to The Guardian, she began working on her memoir Rememberings, but shared that she had a mental breakdown around that time, brought by one of her children suffering from an illness, as the well as the effects after undergoing a hysterectomy later that year.

"Angry, raging, I was furious," she told the publication in 2021. "I was completely gone. I was suicidal. Nobody could deal with me. I was isolated and alone. I'd be looking at them, thinking, what the hell are they all frightened of?"

She said she admitted herself into a psychiatric hospital St Patrick's in Dublin in 2016, noting, "Thank God I spent a lot of the last six years there, because otherwise I wouldn't be alive."

Looking to the future, the singer explained she "managed to achieve something" as of late.

"If I've managed to have a shower or I've managed to clean the house, I'll say to myself: ‘You've achieved a lot today, that was great,'" she shared. "But I don't do it looking in the mirror. Now and again I'll give myself a kiss in the mirror or say, you f--ing rock! I think I'm good now. But I'm not stupid enough to think I won't have relapses. I'm not stupid enough to think I won't end up in hospital again. I'm a recovering abuse survivor and it's a life's work."

In a post shared to her Facebook July 11, O'Connor expressed her desire to embrace on her music career again.

"Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence," she wrote. "Very happy to be home. Soon finishing my album. Release early next year. Hopefully touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025."

O'Connor is survived by her three children Jake, 34, Roisin, 28, and Yeshua, 16.

This story is being updated in real time.

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