Yahoo News Sinéad O’Connor died of natural causes, says coroner
Sinéad O’Connor, who was found unresponsive at her home in south London, died from “natural causes”, a coroner has said.
The Irish singer was pronounced dead at the scene after police officers discovered her on July 26 last year. She was 56.
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that the death was not being treated as suspicious.
A coroner has now confirmed that an investigation has been completed following a post-mortem investigation.
On Tuesday, a statement from Southwark Coroner’s Court said: “This is to confirm that Ms O’Connor died of natural causes. The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death.”
New York tribute for O’Connor
It came after a tribute concert for O’Connor and Shane MacGowan, frontman of The Pogues, was announced for New York City’s Carnegie Hall on March 20 – days after the city’s St Patrick’s Day parade.
Musical artists including Mountain Goats, Cat Power and Dropkick Murphys are set to cover a number of O’Connor and MacGowan’s songs to celebrate their lives.
Thousands of mourners lined the streets of Bray at O’Connor’s funeral in August last year with singers Bono and Bob Geldof attending a private ceremony.
In a video shared shortly before her death, O’Connor hinted at plans to release new music and teased a possible world tour.
She was reported to have moved into a £3,000-a-month penthouse between Herne Hill and Brixton just weeks before her death.
O’Connor, who was best known for her worldwide hit single Nothing Compares 2 U, released in 1990, had been open about her mental health struggles in the past.
Following the death of her 17-year-old son Shane in January, the mother of four was admitted to hospital after posting on social media that she had “decided to follow” his path.
The teenager took his own life in January last year after escaping hospital while on suicide watch
O’Connor mourned him in a tweet and said: “Been living as an undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.
“We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo [limbo] without him.”
Fame and early life
O’Connor changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat when she converted to Islam in 2018.
Born on Dec 8, 1966, she had spoken about her traumatic childhood at the hands of a mother who she alleged physically and sexually abused her.
Placed in corrective school aged 15 after spates of theft, O’Connor’s musical talent was spotted by one of the nuns at Grianan Training Centre, in Dublin, who bought her a guitar and urged her to have lessons.
She subsequently met Colm Farrelly, with whom she formed the band Ton Ton Macoute, thrusting her onto the global stage.
After signing with Ensign Records, she released her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, which sold 2.5 million copies, in 1987. Her 1990 album I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got sold more than seven million copies.
