WASHINGTON — Sinéad O’Connor, the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s and passed away last July at the age of 56, died from "natural causes," a coroner has determined.
London's Metropolitan Police had said the singer's death was not considered suspicious after she was found unresponsive at a home in southeast London on July 26. O'Connor was 56.
The Southwark Coroner's Court confirmed that O'Connor died of natural causes, which means circumstances when an illness or condition is not linked to external forces. It did not provide details.
The singer, who began her career performing on the streets of Dublin, rose to worldwide fame with her cover of Prince's ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released in 1990.
O’Connor was public about her mental illness and was hospitalized after her teenage son, Shane, died by suicide in 2022.
A lifelong non-conformist, O'Connor was known for her outspoken political and cultural stances and fierce criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, long before allegations of sexual abuse in the clergy were widely reported.
Thousands of fans lined the streets of Bray, the Irish town she had called home, during a funeral procession in August. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar attended, along with U2's Bono.
Recognizable by her shaved head and with a multi-octave mezzo soprano of extraordinary emotional range, O’Connor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame.
O'Connor announced in 2018 that she had converted to Islam and would be adopting the name Shuhada’ Davitt, later Shuhada Sadaqat — although she continued to use Sinéad O’Connor professionally.
O’Connor was born on Dec. 8, 1966. She had a difficult childhood, with a mother she alleged was abusive and encouraged her to shoplift. As a teenager she spent time in a church-sponsored institution for girls, where she said she washed priests’ clothes for no wages. But a nun gave O’Connor her first guitar, and soon she sang and performed on the streets of Dublin, her influences ranging from Dylan to Siouxsie and the Banshees.
O’Connor announced she was retiring from music in 2003, but continued to record new material. Her most recent album was “ I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss,” released in 2014 and she sang the theme song for Season 7 of “Outlander.”
The singer married four times; her union to drug counsellor Barry Herridge, in 2011, lasted just 16 days. O’Connor had four children: Jake, with her husband John Reynolds; Roisin, with John Waters; Shane, with Donal Lunny; and Yeshua Bonadio, with Frank Bonadio.
Editor's note: This story includes discussion of suicide. The U.S. suicide and crisis lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. There is also an online chat at 988lifeline.org