Sinead O’Connor’s health battle saw hit singer ‘quit’ music over debilitating pain
SINEAD O’Connor’s health battle saw the hit singer “quit” music because of debilitating pain.
Irish music star O’Connor has died aged just 56, after finding worldwide fame with her epic ballad Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990.
The star’s cause of death is not yet known.
In a statement, the singer’s family said: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.
“Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
O’Connor revealed that she was suffering from fibromyalgia after calling time on her music career in the early 2000s.
The condition causes muscoloskeletal pain all over the body – with O’Connor saying it was manageable but not curable.
In 2005 she told Hot Press: “I have a high pain threshold, so that helps – it’s the tiredness part that I have difficulty with.
“You get to know your patterns and limits, though, so you can work and plan around it.
“It is made worse, obviously, by stress. So you have to try to keep life quiet and peaceful.
“And you have to re-assess what you do – and maybe find another less stressful job, or re-habilitate your f***in’ same job!
“Which is kind of what I am trying to do, given that I love singing and that it’s calming.
“So I want to do that, but to stay out of the parts of it that cause me undue stress.”
In January last year the star announced the death of her 17-year-old Shane – and vowed never to sing again.
Sinead said that Shane had “decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God”.
She later added: “Just to say, suggestions there’ll be any performances this year or next year or ever again are erroneous.”
“There will never be anything to sing about again.”
Sinead held a Hindu funeral for Shane, placing a pack of cigarettes in his coffin.
She said: “We just said goodbye to our beautiful angel, Shaney.
“Very lovely Hindu ceremony. Shane will have loved it. He was always chanting ‘Om. Shanti’.
“I put a few packs of fags in the coffin for him in case there’s none in heaven. He’ll have loved that too. Om. Shanti.”
The final snaps of Sinead were taken at the RTÉ Choice Music Prize in Dublin this March, where she won the Classic Irish Album award.
In the heartbreaking pics, O’Connor can be seen beaming, laughing and waving to fans.
In a Twitter post on June 6 this year, Sinéad quoted a Hawaiian prayer.
It ran: “This is dedicated to the many upon whom I have in my life so far brought suffering and is also, with love, for anyone who has in their lives so far brought suffering upon me.”
Shared on June 7 2016, O’Connor’s last Instagram post was a black-and-white picture of herself smiling.
In the heartbreaking snap, the singer is dressed simply in a black t-shirt against a plain background.
The post’s caption read: “Love the life you have and be grateful for what you are.”
The star’s fourth child, 17-year-old Shane O’Connor, passed away in January last year after he went missing from Tallaght Hospital following years of struggling with mental health issues.
Sinéad was born in Glenageary, County Dublin on December 8, 1966, and was one of five children raised Roman Catholic.
Her troubled teenage years, involving shoplifting and truancy, saw her placed in the Magdalene asylums for 18 months.
There she began to discover her love of singing and in 1984 she met Colm Farrelly, with whom she formed a band called Ton Ton Macoute.