A large crowd gathered at the bandstand in Phoenix Park to celebrate the August full moon, known as the dispute moon, for their “greatest disputer,” Sinéad O’Connor, following her death last week.
The event was organised by Queer Lunacy, a group that organises events in off grid locations under each full moon showcasing art and music by “gals, gays, they’s and minority’s” according to their Instagram.
One of the performers at the event, Ragin’ Spice, described Sinéad as “our Chief”.
“I was asked to come celebrate the full moon, the dispute moon. When she passed it was only right for us to continue and celebrate our leader. Our queen disputer. We needed to gather and wake her,” she said.
Sisters Sorcha Hackett and Ciarna Pham read out a poem they wrote together about Sinéad, which said that she “kicked down the barriers in her Doc Marten boots,” and described her as a “bald-headed deliverer of unwanted truths”.
“Nothing compared to her and no one came near, her voice was her weapon and her words were her spear,” the poem continued.
The final lines of the poem read, “She, a young woman was what was needed back then, so let’s rip up more pictures, exposé the corruption of men, and women who have lost their souls to greed, for they tried to bury Sinéad and forgot she was a seed.”
The pair’s mother, Marie Hackett, said that she did not have the words to say how great Sinéad O’Connor was, but that she will never be forgotten.
“I know I’m a lot older than her, but she just always stood out for me. I really, really admired her, and particularly when she tore up the photograph of the pope, I couldn’t believe that such a young woman would have the bravery to do something like that,” Ms Hackett said.
“She was vilified, and awful things were said about her, but it’s all come to pass that everything Sinéad did, she cared so much, she genuinely cared about people, so, so deeply.
“I’m looking at all of the young people here, and I just think it’s a great tribute to her to see them all here. She was a beautiful woman, my heart is broken over it. She went through so much and she was so brave,” Ms Hackett added.
Lynn Rafferty and her housemate, Travis Nelson, attended the vigil to give their love to Sinéad.
“I just always saw her as freedom, she didn’t really hold anything back and what she had to say and how she had to say it, just an unapologetic talent that rocked the world, so she really flew the flag for us in so many ways, especially for Irish women,” Ms Rafferty said.
Maya Cullen Petrovic, who works in the music industry, said that seeing the treatment of Sinéad O’Connor at a young age inspired her.
“The labels wanted to control her and her actions, her story was one that inspired me to try and do better for artists, and to try and effect change and make sure that supports are in place for artists when they’re struggling, so I’m here as a mark of respect for her,” she told The Irish Times.
“I grew up listening to [Sinéad’s] music, but always was in admiration of her for her courage and strength and standing up and speaking out about issues, obviously the catholic church being one of them, but something about her was a brave spirit,” Ms Cullen Petrovic said.
