The body of Sinead O'Connor, the iconoclastic musician who died in her apartment in London on July 23 2023, has finally been laid to rest in the place she called home - Bray in Ireland. The service was said to be a multi-faith celebration of O'Connor's life, owing to her conversion to Islam but also her earlier roots as a Catholic growing up in Ireland.
Of the friends and family that attended the private funeral service, current Irish president Michael D. Higgins confirmed his attendance, releasing a statement earlier this morning which read: "The expression of both, without making any attempt to reduce the one for the sake of the other, made her contribution unique – phenomenal in music terms, but of immense heroism. However, achieving this came from the one heart and the one body and the one life, which extracted an incredible pain, perhaps one too much to bear."
"That is why all those who are seeking to make a fist of their life, combining its different dimensions in their own way, can feel so free to express their grief at her loss.”
A fleeting installation honouring Sinéad O’Connor has been unveiled on a hillside overlooking the Irish seaside town of Bray, where she is to be buried; a message in 30ft-tall letters spelling out “ÉIRE ♡ SINÉAD” that was visible from the air appeared on Sunday outside the County Wicklow town, south of Dublin, that was her home for 15 years. The tribute, which used the Irish name for Ireland, appeared 11 days after police found the singer unresponsive in a south London flat, prompting shock and grief around the world. O’Connor was 56
5. BRAY, IRELAND - AUGUST 8: Members of the public sing along to 'Nothing Compares to You' before the hearse carrying Sinead O'Connor's coffin stops at her former home on the seafront on August 8, 2023 in Bray, Ireland. The public lined the streets of Bray today as the funeral cortÃge of Sinead O'Connor passed through the town where she lived for 15 years. The iconic Irish singer known for her hit single "Nothing Compares 2 U" passed away at the age of 56 on July 26, 2023. O'Connor was renowned as a protest singer who used her fame to champion human rights, anti-racism, and expose injustice, particularly within the Catholic Church. She leaves behind three children. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
Members of the public sing along to 'Nothing Compares to You' before the hearse carrying Sinead O'Connor's coffin stops at her former home on the seafront on August 8, 2023 in Bray, Ireland. The public lined the streets of Bray today as the funeral cortege of Sinead O'Connor passed through the town where she lived for 15 years. . (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images) | Getty Images
6. Flowers and tributes are pictured outside the former home of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, in Bray, eastern Ireland, ahead of her funeral on August 8, 2023. A funeral service for Sinead O'Connor, the outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, is to be held on Tuesday in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP) (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Flowers and tributes are pictured outside the former home of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, in Bray, eastern Ireland,. The funeral service for Sinead O'Connor, the outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, has been held on Tuesday in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
7. Flowers and tributes are pictured outside the former home of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, in Bray, eastern Ireland, ahead of her funeral on August 8, 2023. A funeral service for Sinead O'Connor, the outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, is to be held on Tuesday in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP) (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
The outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, had friends, family and fans say their final goodbyes this morning in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
8. Flowers and tributes are pictured outside the former home of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, in Bray, eastern Ireland, ahead of her funeral on August 8, 2023. A funeral service for Sinead O'Connor, the outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, is to be held on Tuesday in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP) (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Flowers and tributes are pictured outside the former home of Irish singer Sinead O'Connor, in Bray, eastern Ireland, ahead of her funeral on August 8, 2023. A funeral service for Sinead O'Connor, the outspoken singer who rose to international fame in the 1990s, is to be held on Tuesday in the Irish seaside town of Bray. (Photo by PAUL FAITH / AFP) (Photo by PAUL FAITH/AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images