Sinead O’Connor’s funeral as it happened: Bono and Bob Geldof among mourners at private service
Fans of the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer have lined the streets for procession along the seafront in Bray, Co Wicklow
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Fans lined the streets of Bray, Co Wicklow, ahead of Sinead O’Connor’s funeral on Tuesday 8 August.
The Irish singer’s funeral procession passed through the seafront in the town where O’Connor lived for 15 years. Plans for her funeral were shared by her family, in a statement issued to Ireland’s public broadcaster, RTE.
Ahead of the funeral, fans packed out the Strand Road, leaving emotional notes of tribute and flowers for the singer by her former home.
After the public paid their respects, O’Connor was buried in a private service attended by close friends and family.
On Sunday (6 August), a large tribute to O’Connor appeared on a hillside in Bray, reading “ÉIRE SINÉAD” with a heart emoji between the two words, the word “Eire” being the Irish name for Ireland.
“We just wanted to take the opportunity to mark the moment with a bold statement that symbolises what she meant to this little country of ours,” Richard Seabrooke, executive creative director of The Tenth Man, told CNN in a statement.
Find out how the funeral unfolded below.
Sinead O’Connor’s open letter that issued a warning to Miley Cyrus
After the release of her viral music video for her hit single “Wrecking Ball”, Miley Cyrus (then-20 years old) told Rolling Stone magazine that she’d been inspired by O’Connor’s accompanying visuals for “Nothing Compares 2 U” (1990).
In response, O’Connor wrote to Cyrus “in the spirit of motherliness and with love”.
She told the young artist that it wasn’t “‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos” and that she was in fact being “pimped” by the music industry.
Read the full letter O’Connor wrote to Cyrus:
Sinead O’Connor’s open letter with a warning for Miley Cyrus
Cyrus compared the music video for her 2013 hit ‘Wrecking Ball’ to the visuals for O’Connor’s ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’
Fans to line the streets for final farewell to Sinead O’Connor
Fans are expected to line an Irish coastal road to bid farewell to the acclaimed singer, as the cortege passes by before a private burial.
Handwritten notes left outside her former home in Bray, Co Wicklow, thanked her for sharing her voice and her music.
One note said: “You are forever in my heart.”
A pink chair was placed outside the pink-framed conservatory of the house, located on the seafront, with pink flowers and a photo of the singer placed at the base of the chair.
One sign left at the wall of the property listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees: “Where words fail, music speaks.”
A neighbour was also seen putting candles on the wall that separated the two properties.
Hand-written notes addressed to Sinead O'Connor have been left outside the late singer's former home in Bray, Co Wicklow, thanking her for sharing her voice and her music.
A pink chair has been placed outside the pink-framed conservatory of the house, located on the seafront, with pink flowers and a photo of the singer placed at the base of the chair.
One sign left at the wall of the property listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees: “Where words fail, music speaks.”
A local musician has remembered singing with Sinead O'Connor in her home town of Bray, describing her as a “big icon” in the area with a “heart of gold”.
Tom Dalton, who ran acoustic singing sessions in a local pub with his band Celtic Grace, told of his surprise when he discovered he was singing with acclaimed star O'Connor in 2019, having not initially recognised her.
He told BBC Breakfast co-hosts Rachel Burden and Jon Kay: “We set it up there every Wednesday night, we had a poster up just down the road...I was there Wednesday evening in 2019.
“She (O'Connor) wasn't performing at the time, she was in a quiet mode. But anyway, this lady wandered in with a big Quake guitar...and I didn't recognise her at first. She walked in and she said 'What are you doing?'
“I said we do the round-robin and we just sing, and she sang the most beautiful song and played the guitar. I'd never heard her play the guitar and many people probably haven't.
“But anyway, we're doing the round-robin, and it came around and she sang and it was gorgeous. We went back around again and one of the girls started singing Amazing Grace, she joined in and played and sang, I joined in with her, she sang the second verse, and I sang the last verse.
“It was absolutely fabulous.”
Mr Dalton said he was praised for staying calm but had to confess he had not known it was the Nothing Compares 2 U singer at first.
“Two lovely ladies were there that night and said, 'Tom, you handled that so well' and I had to tell the truth, that when she walked in I didn't recognise her, but the minute I heard the voice, I knew who it was,” he said.
He continued: “She just stood up after about an hour and she went and we didn't hassle her, we didn't ask her for a photograph, there was nothing. It was just a complete and beautiful night.
“To meet her in that setting and such a beautiful lady, it was absolutely fabulous. To have had the pleasure to meet her and sing with her was something that's just hard to describe, without giving me the teary-eyed.”
The local musician also spoke about how the community felt about having the global superstar living in Bray, ahead of her funeral on Tuesday.
He added: “She was a really big icon here in the town, she was brilliant, she walked up and down, she talked to everyone and she was really a fabulous person...she really had a heart of gold.
“She really was a lovely, lovely lady and I've met only on one occasion, we sang with her, but she really was a gorgeous lady, I'm so sad for her, what a fantastic singer.
“It's a sad day but the town will remember her and she's an icon here in Bray and always will be.”
Reporting by Press Association
What police have said about Sinead O’Connor’s death
Sinead O’Connor’s death is not being treated as suspicious, police said in a statement on 28 July.
As tributes poured in for the Irish singer after her death aged 56, police disclosed that she was found “unresponsive” in “a residential address” in the Lambeth area of London.
O’Connor’s death was confirmed by her family in a statement. The cause of her death has yet to be disclosed.
Days before she died, O’Connor shared a tribute to her 17-year-old son, who died in 2022, in what would be her final social media post.
Police issue statement after Sinead O’Connor’s death
Musician’s family was alerted after she was found ‘unresponsive’
Tributes paid to Sinead O’Connor ahead of funeral
Ahead of O’Connor’s funeral today, flowers and tributes have been placed outside the singer’s home in Bray, eastern Ireland.
Roads to close near Sinead O’Connor’s former home as fans gather
Roads will be closed near Sinead O’Connor’s former home so fans can gather to pay their respects as the late Irish singer’s funeral procession passes.
People have been meeting outside the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer’s old house in Bray, Co Wicklow, to lay notes and flowers.
They will then line the coastal road to bid her farewell when the procession leaves the private service.
A statement from the Gardai said: “In keeping with her family’s wishes, following a private service, members of the public will be able to pay their respects and are asked to gather at the Strand Road/Promenade area between 11.30am and 12.30pm.
“It is expected the funeral procession will stop briefly in this area at some stage between these times... Gardai will be in attendance and, if needed, further rolling road closures may be put in place.”
Road closures are expected to be in place from 11.30am to 12.30pm in the Strand Road/Promenade area, with all other traffic to be diverted on to the Adelaide Road.
People paying their respects are advised to use public transport where possible.
Additional reporting by Press Association.
Trains ‘significantly busier than normal’ as mourners pour into Bray for Sinead O’Connor’s funeral
With fans encouraged to visit Bray to pay their respects by bus today, train services in Co Wicklow are “significantly busier than normal”.
A spokesman for Irish Rail told PA: “Darts arriving to Bray are significantly busier than normal for mid-morning services, with people travelling to pay their respects to Sinead O’Connor.
“Our station manager advises me the last three trains arriving in particular have been quite busy, and that’s expected to continue over the next hour.”
Additional reporting by Press Association.
A Volkswagen camper decorated with flowers and Pride flags has arrived outside the house where O’Connor lived in Bray.
The vehicle is playing the singer’s hits out of speakers mounted on the roof as crowds gather.
Fans have left a number of emotion-packed notes to O’Connor near her house.
One reads: “Thanks for your short, special life. Gone too soon. Give your lovely son Shane a hug for me in heaven. Have a nice long rest with Shane.”
O’Connor’s son Shane died by suicide in January 2022 aged 17.
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