Sinead O’Connor, also known as Shuhada Sadaqat, was buried in her hometown in Ireland, in a private funeral procession led by the country’s leading imam, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, attended by the prime minister and president, while thousands of fans flocked to her house to pay their final respects on Tuesday.
Hundreds lined the route of the procession as it passed along the seafront in Bray, 20 kilometers (13 miles) south of Dublin, where she lived for 15 years.
“I came up here today to pay my respects to Sinead, the legend she was,” Liam O’Neill, 56, from nearby Dun Laoghaire, told AFP from the procession route.
“She had a voice like a rock. She was extremely talented and brilliant,” he added, wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with O’Connor’s face in her 20s.
The Grammy award-winning singer, best known for her 1990 cover of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” died last month after being found unresponsive at her London home. She was 56.
The musician, who rose to international fame in the nineties, was also mourned at a funeral just prior to the procession, attended by family, friends and dignitaries, before a private burial.
‘Outpouring’
Ireland’s President Michael Higgins and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar were among those attending the service, while activist and pop star Bob Geldof and U2 star Bono were part of the cortege.
“The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinead O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people,” Higgins said in a statement. Dr. Umar Al-Qadri, who led the funeral prayer, described it as “an honor” to be part of the occasion “for the daughter of Ireland.”
In a eulogy he shared online after the ceremony, Dr. Umar Al-Qadri said: “The more she sang and spoke about her own pain, as well as about the pervasive sins in society that she witnessed, the more her voice and her words resonated with listeners and touched their hearts. Sinéad never stopped her search to know God fully, exemplifying a life marked with a deep communion with God.”
“Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.”
He added: “I know that peoples of all faiths throughout the world will be praying for this beloved daughter of Ireland, among them will be countless Muslims praying for their sister in faith and humanity.”
“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.”
He continued: “May her family and loved ones find solace in the outpouring of love from the corners of this earth for this unique daughter of Ireland who moved so many hearts with her mighty voice and unflinching honesty as an artist, poet, and human being.”
“Sinéad had a poet’s heart and, I believe, would share with us today the sentiments of the poet, Rumi when he said: ‘This place is a dream. Only a sleeper considers it real. Then death comes like dawn, and you wake up laughing at what you thought was your grief.”
O’Connor converted to Islam, changing her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018.
Her family offered the public the chance to give her a “last goodbye” by organizing the funeral procession through Bray, saying she loved the town and its residents.
People left tributes outside the singer’s former home, named “Montebello,” which the convoy passed by.
One message left on the gatepost read: “Sinead, thank you for hearing us and responding… sorry for breaking your heart.”
Others pinned up the Irish flag and pictures.
On a coastal hilltop overlooking Bray, a World War II navigational sign for pilots spelling Ireland in Irish — “Eire” — was decorated with a heart and “Sinead” in tribute.
‘Lioness and a lamb’
O’Connor’s death prompted a surge of public sympathy around the world and in Ireland, where her willingness to criticize the Catholic Church, particularly, saw her vilified by some and praised as a trailblazer by others.
“Besides being a fantastic musician, singer, she kind of instilled in people the need to speak out for injustice, for the different factions in society,” June Byrne, 73, told AFP, as she watched the cortege pass.
During her career O’Connor revealed she had been abused by her mother as a child. In 1992 she protested the abuse of children by the church, tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II while performing on the U.S. television program “Saturday Night Live.”
Tributes streamed in from political leaders, pop stars and others following the news of her death, many lauding her powerful voice and willingness to court controversy.
Fellow singer Annie Lennox called her “a lioness and a lamb.”
O’Connor’s agents have said she had been completing a new album and planning a tour as well as a movie based on her autobiography “Rememberings”.
But the musician had also spoken publicly about her mental health struggles, telling Oprah Winfrey in 2007 that she struggled with thoughts of suicide and had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
More recently she had shunned the limelight, in particular following the death of her son Shane from suicide last year aged 17.
An autopsy has reportedly been carried out to determine the cause of the singer’s death, which London police have said they were not treating as suspicious.
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