Sinead O’Connor’s final post on social media before her death was a heartbreaking tribute to her son, Shane, who died last year by suicide aged 17.
O’Connor, a force of nature as famous for her activism as she was for her music, died at the age of 56, 18 months after her son. Her cause of death had not been disclosed at the time of writing.
On 17 July, she shared a post on Twitter paying tribute to Shane, and expressing her ongoing grief over his loss.
She wrote: “#lostmy17yrOldSonToSuicidein2022. Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul. 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 [sic].”
Bardo, in Tibetan Buddhism, is a state of existence between death and rebirth.
O’Connor shared her son Shane with Irish folk musician and producer Donal Lunny. Shane died in January 2022, after escaping a hospital where he was on suicide watch.
Following Shane’s death, O’Connor fiercely criticised the Irish health service HSE, the child and family agency Tusla, and the Irish state overall. She later apologised for “lashing out” on social media.
She is survived by her three other children, Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters and Yeshua Bonadio.
Just a few weeks before her tweet about Shane, the singer had announced new music plans, writing: “Hi all, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence. Very happy to be home.
“Soon finishing my album. Release early next year. Hopefully touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025.”
O’Connor shot to fame in 1990 with her piercing cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U”. She released 10 studio albums over the course of her career, the second of which, 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got sold more than seven million copies.