As you probably know by now singer-songwriter Sinead O'Connor passed away today at the age of 56.
No cause of death has been released. To paraphrase Laura Nyro, one can only hope she went naturally. However, given her long history of mental illness and multiple suicide attempts along with the suicide of her 17-year old son Shane last year, such an end unfortunately cannot be ruled out. It was only a few days ago that O'Connor wrote about her son on Twitter stating, "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." Whatever the circumstances of her death, one can only hope she finds a peace she never had while living on this mortal coil.
I remember Sinead O'Connor's 1987 debut album The Lion and the Cobra particularly the video for the lead single "Troy". O'Connor's distinctive appearance set her apart as did her voice which had astonishing emotional range. Of course, she would hit the stratosphere in 1990 her with cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U".
Perhaps that success was the worst thing that could happen to her. Trying to handle that pressure on top of all which had troubled her from childhood was too much to bear. While she can certainly be lauded for trying to get public attention concerning sexual abuse in the Catholic Church, the way she went about it didn't help matters most notably ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. I remember seeing it live and wondering what she could have been thinking as he was beloved by many for standing up to Communist repression in the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
In retrospect, her anger may have been justified as reports have recently emerged alleging that he covered up sexual abuse among Catholic clergy before he became Pope in his native Poland. Nevertheless, however good her intentions might have been she gained few converts in the process. It would be left to others to expose the wrongdoings of the Catholic Church.
When O'Connor announced her conversion to Islam in 2018, I wondered how that would square her support for feminism and legalized abortion in her native Ireland with her new faith. At the same time, I also wrote:
It was just over a year ago that O'Connor, now 51, posted a tearful Facebook video in which she declared thoughts of suicide after losing custody of her teenaged son. If her embrace of Islam has helped her overcome suicidal thoughts and bring her peace of mind then it is certainly a positive.
Sadly, this would the very same son who took his own life last year. Given the very public grief she shared about her son a few days ago, whatever inspiration she took from her new faith it might not have been enough to sustain her will to live. If that is the case, then one can only hope this faith helped prolong her life even by a few short years. Now that Sinead O'Connor has left this mortal coil the best that we can hope is that she finds the other half of her soul. R.I.P.
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