Sinead O’Connor moved to London ‘to feel less lonely’, neighbours say – latest

Hundreds of people gathered at the London Irish Centre, in North London, for an evening celebrating the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer’s life and music.

Famous members of the Irish diaspora from comedian Sharon Horgan to DJ Annie Mac attended the event.

Attendees were treated to a reading of one of O’Connor’s letters by actress Lisa Dwan, as well as a rendition of “Take Me To Church”, led by comedian Aisling Bea.

Irish singer Moncrieff said it was “really special” to be at the event.

“It was really special just to be a part of it,” he said. “To be around people who knew Sinead and were a part of her life was just a privilege.

“I’m an artist from Waterford, I moved to London a few years ago.

“Just to be in that room, in that energy, to celebrate someone so important in Irish culture and the history of Ireland, and Irish music, I wouldn’t have missed it.”

Blanid Lynn, from Northern Ireland, said that the event was “amazing”.

“Tonight was really amazing, Sinead was such a role model and an icon, a fantastic artist, and a voice for everyone who didn’t have a voice,” she said.

Earlier this month, Sinead O’Connor reportedly moved into a penthouse in south London, however, her neigbhbours had no idea who the singer was.

According to The Times, the late singer’s Herne Hill apartment neighbours realised just who their new neighbour had been after the announcement of her death.

The outlet also revealed that O’Connor told her neighbours she had moved back to the capital city to feel less lonely.

One of O’Connor’s neigbours, Pushpakumara Moragamana, said that the singer would “regularly smoke cigarettes outside the building and spoke about religion, mental health and her son’s death.

The neighbour also said he once had an emotional conversation in which O’Connor cried about how she felt “devastated and depressed” after the loss of her son.

Moragamana and O’Conner reportedly also spoke about the singer’s religion.

The neighbour revealed that the singer would “speak proudly” about the Muslim religion and her reasons for converting. “She was very passionate talking about it,” he added.

Sinn Fein’s vice president, Michelle O’Neill paid tribute to Sinead O’Connor who died on Wednesday aged 56.

“Ireland’s lost one of its greats. Such a hugely talented female artist, a real trailblazer and obviously my thoughts are with her family and all who loved her,” O’Neil said.

“Her influence cannot be overlooked: she was a trailblazer, an activist. Sinéad was the first proponent of #MeToo, decades before it became a global movement. To me, she was a prophet,” writes Chas Newkey-Burden.

Sinead O’Connor’s “fire lit a torch for so many of us… particularly those who really needed her light”, the director of a documentary about the late singer has said.

The award-winning documentary about Sinead O’Connor’s life is set to broadcast on Saturday (July 29) on Sky and NOW, following the singer’s death at the age of 56.

The documentary, directed by Kathryn Ferguson, tells the story of O’Connor’s rise to fame, with archival footage from 1987-1993.

According to reports, the two-hour documentary will be broadcast on television for the first time and will air exclusively on Sky Documentaries at 2 am and again at 9 pm on Saturday 29 July.

It will also be available on demand and on the streaming service NOW.

Sinead O’Connor gave her children specific instructions to use in the event of her death.

In a 2021 interview with People magazine about her memoir Rememberings, O’Connor revealed that she had told her children to call her accountant before the emergency services if she died.

Death threats forced Irish pop singer Sinead O’Connor to call off a peace concert in Jerusalem in the summer of 1997. At the time, a young man named Itamar Ben-Gvir took credit for the campaign against her.

Today, he is Israel’s national security minister.