Sinead O'Connor: does the ‘Nothing Compares 2U’ singer have children, and is she Muslim or Catholic?

Appearing on Good Morning Britain on Tuesday morning (June 1), singer Sinead O’Connor discussed her new memoir and conversion to Islam.

The singer’s new memoir, ‘Rememberings’, covers O’Connor’s early life growing up in Ireland, and her later journey into music.

Who is Sinead O’Connor - and what is she famous for?

Sinead O’Connor is an Irish singer-songwriter who rose to fame after releasing her album The Lion and the Cobra in the 1980s. She is best known for her popular cover of Prince’s song “Nothing Compares 2U”, released in the 1990s.

O’Connor attracted a huge amount of controversy in 1992 when she appeared on Saturday Night Live where she performed Bob Marley’s “War” and ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on camera.

The performance was intended as a protest against the sexual abuse of children in the Catholic church, with O’Connor accusing the church of failing to act on the problem.

What religion is Sinead O’Connor?

In the late 1990s, O’Connor was ordained as a priest of the Irish Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, a Catholic institution not in communion with the mainstream Catholic church.

In interviews, she had stated that she generally considered herself to be Christian.

In an open letter written in 2018, however, O’Connor asked Pope Francis to excommunicate her from the church, as she had done with previous popes.

Shortly afterwards, in October 2018, O'Connor converted to Islam, calling it "the natural conclusion of any intelligent theologian's journey".

The ceremony was conducted in Ireland, after which O’Connor changed her name to Shuhada' Davitt, though she continues to perform via her original stage name.

In a message on Twitter posted at the time, she thanked fellow Muslims for their support and uploaded a video of herself singing the adhan, the Islamic call to prayer. She also posted photos of herself wearing a hijab.

Does she have children?

O’Connor has four children, Jake, Roisin, Shane and Yeshua.

In March 2015, she announced that she was going to be a grandmother for the first time, with her first grandson born to her son Jake Reynolds and his girlfriend Lia that same year.

What does her memoir cover?

O’Connor’s memoir is being called “the landmark memoir of a global music icon.”

“Sinead O'Connor's voice and trademark shaved head made her famous by the age of twenty-one. Her recording of Prince's 'Nothing Compares 2 U' made her a global icon. She outraged millions when she tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II on American television,” reads the blurb.

“O'Connor was unapologetic and impossible to ignore, calling out hypocrisy wherever she saw it. She has remained that way for three decades.

“Now, in Rememberings, O'Connor tells her story - the heartache of growing up in a family falling apart; her early forays into the Dublin music scene; her adventures and misadventures in the world of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll; the fulfilment of being a mother; her ongoing spiritual quest - and through it all, her abiding passion for music.

“Rememberings is intimate, replete with candid anecdotes and full of hard-won insights. It is a unique and remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist,” it promises.

“Rememberings” will be available to purchase from June 1.