The news of the sudden passing of one of the greatest Irish and world singers, Sinéad O’Connor, shook the world a year ago. O’Connor had been found ‘unresponsive’ after police were called to her flat in Herne Hill. Her life ended a little over a year following the passing of her son, Shane Lunny, who died of suicide at the age of 17.
O’Connor was devastated by Shane’s loss. “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,” the late singer posted about her beloved son in her last Tweet.
Now, a year after O’Connor’s death, her death report, which revealed her cause of death, was obtained. The cherished singer and activist passed away due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma combined with a low-grade lower respiratory tract infection.
This report comes six months after the London Inner South Coroner’s Court confirmed her cause of death to be “natural causes.”
The singer gained worldwide fame with her rendition of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” her family said in a statement to The Irish Times. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
O’Connor’s death prompted a wave of tributes, with Ireland’s taoiseach at the time, Leo Varadkar, stating: “Her music was loved around the world, and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare.”
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis was among the public figures who honored O’Connor on the year of her passing.
“I once heard Sìnead sing acappella in an empty chapel in Ireland. It was under construction at the private home of our host. It was one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever heard in my life. We then went together to see Eminem at a festival. I loved her. Her music. Her life. She was a victim of child abuse and a huge change agent for unfair and unjust draconian laws that she helped change in Ireland,” Curtis wrote on Instagram. “She was a warrior. She was a rebel. She ripped up a photograph that was on her mother’s wall because of the hypocrisy of the abusive life she was raised in under the banner of the church. This is so sad. Watch the NOTHING COMPARES documentary. Brilliant. Heartbreaking. Rest well. Rest in power. Rest in peace.”
A week before her death, O’Connor shared with her fans that she had recently returned to London after a 23-year absence, expressing that she was “very happy to be home.”
O’Connor, who converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat was buried as a Muslim in a Catholic cemetery last summer.