Shropshire Star

Sinead O’Connor ‘died of natural causes’

The Irish singer was 56.

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Sinead O’Connor

Sinead O’Connor died from natural causes, a coroner has said.

The Dublin-born singer was found unresponsive by police at her south-east London home on July 26 2023 and pronounced dead at the scene.

She was 56.

A statement from Southwark Coroner’s Court on Tuesday said: “This is to confirm that Ms O’Connor died of natural causes.

“The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death.”

Sinead O’Connor funeral
Fans lined the streets as Sinead O’Connor’s funeral cortege passed through her former hometown of Bray, Co Wicklow (Niall Carson/PA)

According to the Ministry of Justice, death by natural causes is when an illness or condition is not linked to external forces and there are no “unusual circumstances”.

After a post-mortem examination, a coroner can decide whether there are grounds for a natural death inquest, which can happen in a case of neglect or if the person was in police custody or prison at the time of death.

A private funeral, attended by U2’s Bono, Bob Geldof and Irish President Michael D Higgins, was held in August.

A procession then passed O’Connor’s former home in Bray, Co Wicklow, where thousands of fans lined the streets.

It was announced this week that a musical tribute to the musician and The Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan – who died in November after a long battle with ill-health and was a friend of O’Connor – is planned at New York’s Carnegie Hall.

Sinead O’Connor funeral
Bob Geldof was in the funeral cortege for Sinead O’Connor (Liam McBurney/PA)

Dropkick Murphys, Glen Hansard, who performed The Pogues’ hit Fairytale Of New York at MacGowan’s funeral in December, and The Mountain Goats are among the acts scheduled to perform at the event in March.

O’Connor’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U spent weeks at number one in the UK in 1990 and propelled her to stardom.

She was also known for being outspoken on her struggles with her mental health and was said to have helped change Ireland because of her criticism of the Catholic Church.

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