the gifted Irish singer-songwriter who became a superstar in her mid-20s but was known as much for her private struggles and provocative actions as for her fierce and expressive music, has died at 56.

91裸聊视频淚t is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sin茅ad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,91裸聊视频� the singer91裸聊视频檚 family said in a statement reported Wednesday by the BBC and RTE. No cause was disclosed.

She was public about her mental illness, saying that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. O91裸聊视频機onnor posted a Facebook video in 2017 from a New Jersey motel where she had been living, saying that she was staying alive for the sake of others and that if it were up to her, she91裸聊视频檇 be 91裸聊视频済one.91裸聊视频�

When her died by suicide in 2022, O91裸聊视频機onnor tweeted there was 91裸聊视频渘o point living without him91裸聊视频� and was soon hospitalized.

Recognizable by her shaved head and elfin features, O91裸聊视频機onnor began her career singing on the streets of Dublin and soon rose to international fame. She was a star from her 1987 debut album 91裸聊视频淭he Lion and the Cobra91裸聊视频� and became a sensation in 1990 with her cover of Prince91裸聊视频檚 ballad 91裸聊视频淣othing Compares 2 U,91裸聊视频� a seething, shattering performance that topped charts from Europe to Australia and was heightened by a promotional video featuring the gray-eyed O91裸聊视频機onnor in intense close-up.

She was a lifelong non-conformist 91裸聊视频� she would say that she shaved her head in response to record executives pressuring her to be conventionally glamorous 91裸聊视频� but her and troubled private life often overshadowed her music.

A critic of the Catholic Church well before allegations sexual abuse were widely reported, O91裸聊视频機onnor made headlines in October 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II while appearing live on NBC91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淪aturday Night Live91裸聊视频� and denounced the church as the enemy. The next week, Joe Pesci hosted 91裸聊视频淪aturday Night Live,91裸聊视频� held up a repaired photo of the Pope and said that if he had been on the show with O91裸聊视频機onnor he 91裸聊视频渨ould have gave her such a smack.91裸聊视频�

Days later, she appeared at an all-star tribute for Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden and was immediately booed. She was supposed to sing Dylan91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淚 Believe in You,91裸聊视频� but switched to an a cappella version of Bob Marley91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淲ar,91裸聊视频� which she had sung on 91裸聊视频淪aturday Night Live.91裸聊视频�

Although consoled and encouraged on stage by her friend Kris Kristofferson, she left and broke down, and her performance was kept off the concert CD. (Years later, Kristofferson recorded 91裸聊视频淪ister Sinead,91裸聊视频� for which he wrote 91裸聊视频淎nd maybe she91裸聊视频檚 crazy and maybe she ain91裸聊视频檛/But so was Picasso and so were the saints.91裸聊视频�)

She also feuded with Frank Sinatra over her refusal to allow the playing of 91裸聊视频淭he Star-Spangled Banner91裸聊视频� at one of her shows and accused Prince of physically threatening her. In 1989 she declared her support for the Irish Republican Army, a statement she retracted a year later. Around the same time, she skipped the Grammy ceremony, saying it was too commercialized.

In 1999, O91裸聊视频機onnor caused uproar in Ireland when she became a priestess of the breakaway Latin Tridentine Church 91裸聊视频� a position that was not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church. For many years, she called for a full investigation into the extent of the church91裸聊视频檚 role in concealing child abuse by clergy. In 2010, when Pope Benedict XVI apologized to Ireland to atone for decades of abuse, O91裸聊视频機onnor condemned the apology for not going far enough and called for Catholics to boycott Mass until there was a full investigation into the Vatican91裸聊视频檚 role, which by 2018 was making international headlines.

91裸聊视频淧eople assumed I didn91裸聊视频檛 believe in God. That91裸聊视频檚 not the case at all. I91裸聊视频檓 Catholic by birth and culture and would be the first at the church door if the Vatican offered sincere reconciliation,91裸聊视频� she wrote in the Washington Post in 2010.

O91裸聊视频機onnor announced in 2018 that she had and would be adopting the name Shuhada91裸聊视频� Davitt, later Shuhada Sadaqat 91裸聊视频� although she continued to use Sin茅ad O91裸聊视频機onnor professionally.

91裸聊视频淗er music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare,91裸聊视频� Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said in a statement on social media.

O91裸聊视频機onnor was born on Dec. 8, 1966. She had a difficult childhood, with a mother whom she alleged was abusive and encouraged her to shoplift. As a teenager she spent time in a church-sponsored institution for girls, where she said she washed priests91裸聊视频� clothes for no wages. But a nun gave O91裸聊视频機onnor her first guitar, and soon she sang and performed on the streets of Dublin, her influences ranging from Dylan to Siouxsie and the Banshees.

Her performance with a local band caught the eye of a small record label, and, in 1987, O91裸聊视频機onnor released 91裸聊视频淭he Lion and the Cobra,91裸聊视频� which sold hundreds of thousands of copies and featured the hit 91裸聊视频淢andinka,91裸聊视频� driven by a hard rock guitar riff and O91裸聊视频機onnor91裸聊视频檚 piercing vocals. O91裸聊视频機onnor, 20 years old and pregnant while making 91裸聊视频淟ion and the Cobra,91裸聊视频� co-produced the album.

91裸聊视频淚 suppose I91裸聊视频檝e got to say that music saved me,91裸聊视频� she said in an interview with the Independent newspaper in 2013. 91裸聊视频淚 didn91裸聊视频檛 have any other abilities, and there was no learning support for girls like me, not in Ireland at that time. It was either jail or music. I got lucky.91裸聊视频�

91裸聊视频淣othing Compares 2 U91裸聊视频� received three Grammy nominations and was the featured track off her acclaimed album 91裸聊视频淚 Do Not Want What I Haven91裸聊视频檛 Got,91裸聊视频� which helped lead Rolling Stone to name her Artist of the Year in 1991.

91裸聊视频淪he proved that a recording artist could refuse to compromise and still connect with millions of listeners hungry for music of substance,91裸聊视频� the magazine declared.

O91裸聊视频機onnor91裸聊视频檚 other musical credits included the albums 91裸聊视频淯niversal Mother91裸聊视频� and 91裸聊视频淔aith and Courage,91裸聊视频� a cover of Cole Porter91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淵ou Do Something to Me91裸聊视频� from the AIDS fundraising album 91裸聊视频淩ed Hot + Blue91裸聊视频� and backing vocals on Peter Gabriel91裸聊视频檚 91裸聊视频淏lood of Eden.91裸聊视频� She received eight Grammy nominations overall and in 1991 won for best alternative musical performance.

O91裸聊视频機onnor announced she was retiring from music in 2003, but she continued to record new material. Her most recent album was 91裸聊视频� released in 2014 and she sang the theme song

The singer married four times; her union to drug counsellor Barry Herridge, in 2011, lasted just 16 days. O91裸聊视频機onnor had four children: Jake, with her first husband John Reynolds; Roisin, with John Waters; Shane, with Donal Lunny; and Yeshua Bonadio, with Frank Bonadio.

In 2014, she said she was joining the and called for its leaders to step aside so that a younger generation of activists could take over. She later withdrew her application.

This story includes discussion of suicide. If you feel like you are in crisis or are considering suicide, please call the Crisis Centre BC suicide hotline at 1-800-784-2433.

Other resources include: Canada Suicide Prevention Service at Toll free: 1-833-456-4566. You can also text 45645 or visit the online chat service at .