Arts & Entertainment

Hundreds bid farewell to Sinead O’Connor in private event in London

London, Jul 27 (EFE).- Hundreds of people attended a private event Thursday night in the British capital to pay tribute to late Irish singer Sinead O’Connor.

The event took place at the London Irish Centre in the borough of Camden, where artists and friends paid tribute to O’Connor with musical performances and speeches.

One of those in attendance was Aisling Bea, an Irish comedian who told Efe that everything the famed artist “stood up for was proven right in the end.”

“And I think the mainstream media often toyed with her, and particularly her mental health, as if it was entertainment. It was never entertaining. She was a beautiful and gentle person,” Bea said.

“She was an incredible woman, an incredible artist,” the comedian added.

“I think her legacy will be a whole generation of Irish women and women around the world who are maybe a little less afraid of being seen as difficult or troubled or mad,” Bea said.

O’Connor was found dead at her home in London on Wednesday at the age of 56.

Known for her shaved head and powerful voice, the Irish recording artist rose to international fame with her haunting and soul-baring version of the Prince song “Nothing Compares 2 U,” which was one of the tracks on her 1990 second studio album “I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.”

Besides her music, she is perhaps best known for her political provocations, the most shocking of which came in 1992 during her appearance on the late-night US program “Saturday Night Live.”

At the end of her a cappella version of Bob Marley’s song “War,” which she intended as a protest against sexual abuse of children in the Catholic Church, O’Connor held up a photo of then-Pope John Paul II, ripped it to pieces and said, “fight the real enemy.”

That performance came nine years before that same pontiff apologized to victims of sexual abuse by priests and other clergy.

DJ and writer Annie Mac organized the event in memory of O’Connor and her impact on the Irish community.

At the entrance to the center, which was decorated with roses and sunflowers, people left cards with messages to the late singer such as “rest in peace, warrior.”

The London Inner South Coroner’s Court said Thursday that it has directed that an autopsy be carried out to determine the cause of O’Connor’s death and whether an inquest is needed.

On Thursday, a Metropolitan Police spokesman told Efe that O’Connor was found unresponsive at a residential address in a neighborhood of south London after officers received a call Wednesday morning.

O’Connor had moved to the British capital from Ireland just weeks earlier. EFE

ggs-er/mc

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