Inside Sinéad O’Connor’s Last Months before Sudden Death — She Wanted ‘To Find’ Her Late Son

• Sinéad O’Connor died at age 56 in 2023 after finding fame with her rendition of a Prince song.
• The singer battled mental health issues from a tough childhood and left her career floundering.
• Losing her son broke her, and she struggled until the end.

Sinéad O’Connor was a musician, actress, and composer born in Dublin, Ireland, on December 8, 1966. Some of her work includes 1993’s soundtrack for “In The Name of The Father” and the one for 2001’s “Vanilla Sky.”

The singer is most famous for her 1990s version of the hit song “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The song launched her to international stardom, despite the original writer being the late Prince, and the video stood out for its uniqueness.

In the video, the Irish singer’s face is brought close to the frame, and she sings bald while tears run down her cheeks. The Grammy Award winner said she thought of her mother while singing the song.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad.”

The message revealed how “devastated” the star’s family and friends were and asked for privacy as they navigated the loss. O’Connor‘s fame dwindled over the years as she struggled with personal challenges and more.

In 1991, “Nothing Compares 2 U” was nominated for four Grammy Awards, but O’Connor controversially boycotted the ceremony. Instead, she wrote an open letter to the Recording Academy of the United States (US) saying that the organization only acknowledged “mostly the commercial side of art.”

On October 3, 1992, she gave an acapella rendition of Bob Marley’s “War” on “Saturday Night Live (SNL).” The difference in her performance was that she referenced child abuse instead of racism and then tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II.

In 2002, a website questioned if the artist would’ve changed anything about her SNL performance, and she said no. Writing about the incident in her 2015 memoir “Rememberings,” O’Connor noted how people wanted her to be a pop star, but she was a “protest singer” who had things she wished to get off her chest and had no desire for fame.

The star’s book also saw her talking about her abusive mother and having childhood trauma that led to her 2015 breakdown. The actress lived with her “not well” mother, Marie, after her parents divorced and suffered physical abuse from the matriarch that landed her in the hospital.

At age 13, she relocated to live with her father and lost Marie five years later. O’Connor’s traumatic life got her diagnosed with borderline personality disorder, complex post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and bipolar disorder.

The singer’s lowest point came in 2015 after undergoing a radical hysterectomy to treat her endometriosis. The surgery and the surgical menopause that came afterward left her triggered, and since then, she’s been in and out of psychiatric facilities for years.

The celebrity sometimes posted cries for help on social media, like her 2015 Facebook announcement that she’d overdosed at a hotel in Ireland. By 2021, she was having biweekly check-ins with her medical team, but once revealed that a PTSD episode couldn’t be predicted.

O’Connor described herself as a “rescue dog” in that she was fine until placed in a situation that reminded her of her trauma. However, she’d managed to keep balanced with some skills she was taught, including therapy.

The artist also made peace with her childhood by stopping to survive the abuse and focusing on feeling. The singer also forgave her mother for leaving her “a torture chamber” because she was unwell. She converted to Islam from Catholicism in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat.

The celebrity welcomed children from four relationships, from oldest to youngest they are Jake, Roisin, Shane, and Yeshua. In 2021, she said she found joy being in bed, having a tidy house, and binge-watch detective shows.

“Murder in the First” was her favorite show, and when she died, O’Connor was believed to be spending her time in Co-Roscommon, Ireland, and London. Sadly her life was turned upside down when She lost one of her children.

While healing from her traumas, O’Connor focused more on being a good mother and her religion. The musician who struggled with her mental health became an ordained priest of the Latin Tridentine Church before announcing her conversion to Islam.

In 2021, she revealed her plans to tour and release new music the following year. On July 12, 2023, the singer shared a Facebook post noting how she’d moved back to London after 23 years of being away, adding:

“Very happy to be home : ).”

In 2021, O’Connor announced that she was retiring from working and touring as she’d gotten tired with age. The celebrity explained then that her “NVDA” album would be her last release in 2022 before she went cold turkey.

After 40 years, the musician was ready to rest happily, put her feet up, and make her other dreams a reality. However, when she announced her return to the entertainment world, she revealed her album was being wrapped up and would be released early in 2024.

O’Connor also noted how she hoped to tour Australia and New Zealand toward the end of 2024 and Europe, the US, and other places in early 2025. However, the year before her social media post went up, the celebrity lost her son, Shane, when he died by suicide at age 17.

The actress had shared several Twitter posts earlier in the week before his death, noting how the teenager had gone missing. In a message to her son, O’Connor told him going missing wasn’t funny anymore and that it scared her.

She pleaded with the teenager to go to a Gardai station – which put out a notice about the boy being missing from January 6, 2022 – and anyone with him to call the organization for his safety. The star later blamed a hospital for allowing Shane to escape the facility despite his two suicide attempts a week before and being on suicide watch.

Shane’s mother revealed how the hospital refused to take responsibility and vowed to sue if anything happened to him. In a follow-up message, the parent told her son that his life was precious and that God hadn’t created his beautiful face for nothing.

The artist said, “My world would collapse without you,” calling him her “heart” and begging him not to stop it from beating or harming himself. Days after Shane went missing, O’Connor was hospitalized after revealing on Twitter that she’d decided to follow her son.

In her message, the artist lamented that there wasn’t any point living without him because everything she touched she ruined. The mother of four said she’d only stayed for him, and now he was gone before blaming herself for “destroying” her family and claiming her children didn’t want to know her.

The singer followed up the post with an apology tweet before revealing she was with the police and on her way to a hospital. Shane’s mother apologized for upsetting people and explained that she felt lost without her son, hated herself, but believed the hospital would have her.

The post was dedicated to those she’d brought suffering and her extension of love for those who’d brought the same to her life.

However, she was still determined “to find” her son and said her hospital visit was just a delay. O’Connor had confessed to having suicidal thoughts and often shared her agony and humor over her struggles.

In 2012, she canceled a tour after having a breakdown, and more performances were scraped in 2021 while she went into a one-year treatment trauma and addiction program. The musician later revealed Shane’s death calling him her “beautiful son” and noting how he was “the very light of my life.”

Shane’s mother believed her son was with God and hoped he had a peaceful rest and that no one followed her “baby’s” example. O’Connor then dedicated a Bob Marley song to her late son and said he’d always be her light, and they’d remain together because boundaries couldn’t separate them.

Days after Shane’s death, his mother revealed that 26 hours after his death, Ireland’s The Child and Family Agency (Tusla) hadn’t contacted her. The singer said Gardai informed her of her son’s death, and Tusla not contacting her was “unacceptable.”

Days before O’Connor’s death, she’d expressed heartache over losing her son, saying she lived as an “undead night creature.” She said she and Shane were one soul split into two, and he was the only person who’d loved her unconditionally, adding:

“I am lost in the bardo without him.”

On June 6, 2023, the singer uploaded a video of the Hawaiian ho’oponopono guided meditation for forgiveness, healing, and self-love. The post was dedicated to those she’d brought suffering and her extension of love for those who’d brought the same to her life.

Days later, on July 9, 2023, O’Connor uploaded a video where she was emotional as she described the toll she’d been under after losing Shane. After all the talented musician has been through, her legacy and beautiful voice will live forever.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “help” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741, or go to suicidepreventionlifeline.org.