Sinéad O’Connor Died Last Year
She marched to the beat of her own drum
I remember Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor as someone with a hauntingly beautiful voice and a shaved head. When I heard her speak in interviews, I found her Irish accent charming.
Her debut album was released in 1987, when she was just 20. It received international acclaim. Her music was not narrowly defined — some of it had a soulful, folk sound while other songs seemed to be reggae, pop, or alternative in style. Her voice had an extraordinary range — both in terms of octaves and in terms of emotion.
She wasn’t just an amazing singer and song writer, however. She was also an activist.
At an appearance on Saturday Night Live in 1992, she tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II. One reason for her protest — the abuse of children by the Catholic church, which the Pope had acknowledged several years prior.
As she said in an interview with Rolling Stone, “It’s not like I got up in the morning and said, ‘Okay, now let’s start a new controversy.’ I don’t do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. And that’s fine with me. I’m proud to be a troublemaker.”
Ironically, she was later ordained as a priest in an independent Catholic church that was not affiliated with Rome. She claimed to be a Christian but differentiated herself from many Catholics by calling out the abuse of the clergy.
She was also different from contemporaries like the Material Girl, Madonna.
“There is an emphasis (in pop music) on materialism and it’s not right to give people the message that they can fill their emptiness with material things. They’ve got to try to fill it with truth, which we’ve got to try to show them by being ourselves rather than trying to cover up with loads of makeup or a hairdo or loads of diamond rings.”
This message is one that I think we need to hear more of today.
In an age of selfies and striving for Lambos, it’s refreshing to remember a celebrity who wasn’t defined by her flashy appearance or material wealth. She was a unique, original, and honest person who was confident in her own beliefs. She was a woman with an intellect and a moral compass. She became a celebrity due to talent, not contrived sexuality.
The Irish Independent revealed that she also had a kind heart. She comforted a man in the parking lot of a hospital whose son was inside being treated.
I am sad she is gone, because when she died, we lost a true artist and unique individual.
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