Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor (8 December 1966) is an Irish singer-songwriter. Since 2017 she called herself Magda Davitt and since 25 October 2018 she has taken the name Shuhada Davitt due to her conversion to Islam. O'Connor grew up in Glenageary, a suburb of Dublin, as the middle of five children. She was eight when her parents divorced after a difficult marriage, splitting the family in two. Initially, O'Connor stayed with her mother, but after four years she moved in with her remarried father. O'Connor moved to London and, based on her credits with Ton Ton Macoute, signed a contract with Ensign Records; Fachtna O'Ceallaigh, formerly working at Mother Records, U2's record label, became her manager. O'Connor recorded "Heroine" for the soundtrack of the film Captive, a song she wrote with U2 guitarist The Edge.
At the end of 1987, The Lion and the Cobra was released; this album was well received and produced the singles "Troy", "Mandinka" and "I Want Your Hands on Me" (with rapper MC Lyte in the remix version). In 1989, she recorded a duet with The The frontman Matt Johnson ("Kingdom of Rain") for the album Mind Bomb. O'Connor, now with a close-cropped hairstyle, began working on her second album with, among others, former Adam and the Ants musicians Marco Pirroni and Kevin Mooney. I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got was released in early 1990 and the single "Nothing Compares 2 U" (written by Prince) marked her breakthrough, partly thanks to the video (with the famous tear). O'Connor was number 1 in the Dutch Top 40 for eight weeks and seven weeks in the National Hit Parade. This was the best-selling single in the Netherlands in 1990. In 2008, O'Connor performed during the annual Night of the Proms. For the first time since 1990, she sang her first single "Troy".
Death
Sinéad died on 26 July 2023. The Guardian shared that the London Metropolitan Police received a call around 11:18 am on Wednesday morning regarding an 'unresponsive woman' at a residential address in the English capital. Sinéad had moved to that city shortly before her death. The Irish Times was the first newspaper to report Sinéad's death. They did so with a statement from her family, which read: 'It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and we ask for privacy during this very difficult time.' In January 2022, Sinéad lost her son Shane. He died by suicide at the age of 17. She lost custody of him in 2013. After his death, Sinéad wrote on social media: 'My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the true light of my life, decided today to end his earthly struggle and is now with God. May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby, I love you so much. Please rest.'
source: Wikipedia photo: Thesupermat and Bryan Ledgard
