The China Mail - 'Iconoclast': Remembrances pour in for Sinead O'Connor

The death of the Irish star, who shot to worldwide fame in the 1990s, was revealed Wednesday.

Political leaders and musicians like Bryan Adams and Cat Stevens honoured the 56-year-old best known for her cover of Prince's "Nothing Compares 2 U".

Ireland's President Michael Higgins said the country had lost "one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades".

He praised O'Connor's "fearless commitment to the important issues which she brought to public attention, no matter how uncomfortable those truths may have been".

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said O'Connor's "music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare".

Born in County Dublin, the Grammy-winner made 10 albums in her career, from "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" to 2014's "I'm not Bossy, I'm the Boss".

British pop singer Alison Moyet said O'Connor had a voice that "cracked stone."

"As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast," she added.

- Outspoken -

Instantly recognisable with her trademark shaved head, O'Connor courted controversy throughout her decades-spanning career, speaking out frequently against the Catholic Church.

Starting out busking on the streets of the Irish capital and performing in pubs, she recorded her first album "The Lion and the Cobra" -- a punk cult classic released in 1987 -- in London.

The artist said she had been abused by her mother as a child and in 1992 protested the abuse of children by the Catholic Church, tearing up a picture of Pope John Paul II while performing on US television programme "Saturday Night Live".

In recent years O'Connor had melded her outspoken political views with spiritualism and was ordained as a priest amid controversy in 1999.

She later converted to Islam, changing her name to Shuhada' Sadaqat in 2018.

Singer Cat Stevens, who also converted to Islam, said "she was a tender soul", while writer Bonnie Greer described her voice as "Ireland right down to the ground".

The array of people paying condolences ranged from American rapper and actor Ice T to Irish mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor.

"The world has lost an artist with the voice of an Angel," the fighter posted on Twitter, which is being rebranded as "X".

Canadian singer Bryan Adams wrote on the platform: "RIP Sinead O'Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats."

- 'Cultural impact' -

Newspapers in Ireland and neighbouring Britain splashed tributes to the singer-songwriter on their front pages Thursday.

"Nothing compared to you, Sinead", the Irish Daily Mirror headlined, while the Irish Examiner called her "a child of Ireland... our beloved friend".

Colm O'Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, praised her wider impact on society.

"It is hard to think of an artist who has had the social and cultural impact of Sinead," he said. "What a loss."

O'Connor 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 at the age of 17.

O'Connor is survived by three children and had reportedly been dividing her time between Ireland and Britain prior to her death.

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