‘I’m with my friends ... we just had to come’: fans say goodbye to Sinéad O’Connor

Ruth O’Shea and daughters Emily (26) and Daisy (21), from Churchtown, South Dublin

Ruth: “I’m a die hard Sinéad O’Connor fan since 1988. I just loved her. She was so rebellious and so cool and her voice, obviously, was incredible. I felt like we just had to come out here today, just to say goodbye. She was such an inspiration. She was like ‘screw the establishment, you don’t have to conform, you’re allowed to have an opinion as a woman’. This is something the girls wouldn’t necessarily have experienced. They didn’t know how much of an impact the church had at that time.”

Emily: “We went down to Kilkenny in 2019 and then we got tickets again to see her at the Féile in Tipperary. Mum always played her in the car and at home, so we grew up listening to her all the time. We were front row getting to see her and it was an experience, she was an experience. She was amazing. We were lucky enough that Mum was such a huge fan that we got to experience her as well.”

Daisy: “I know she had a huge emotional impact on my Mum and anytime Mum needed anything, she would just turn on Sinéad O’Connor.”

Rondi Bryson, originally from Los Angeles and living in Westport, Co Mayo

“I travelled to Dublin last night and caught the 5.45am train this morning to be here for 7am. I’m a big fan of her music but also more so a bigger fan of her authenticity and the message that she stood for.

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“She’s one of the first people that helped free me and made me feel okay to be me ... I felt horrible about being who I am until I saw her journey and realised how important it is to be your authentic self and speak your truth and to keep going even if the world is against you.”

Marion Dunne, originally from Israel and living in Rathfarnham, South Dublin.

“I met Sinéad in Israel and spent a week with her in 1995. I tried to sneak into rehearsals and she saw me and she gave me a lift to Tel Aviv and asked me if I was going to the concert the next day. I said the ticket was too expensive and I ended up spending a week with her.

“It was amazing ... She told me about Ireland and now I live here. She was kind, caring and always concerned about others. She was great. One of the nights we stayed up until 2am singing and talking with the band.”

Fran Dooley, from Bray, Co Wicklow

“I was a big fan, I was growing up in the eighties. She was very powerful against all the ancient Irish closedness. She was amazing musically. I went to see her twice, in the Olympia and Vicar Street. I’m genuinely very sad. I’m with my friends and we just had to come. I don’t want to be here but I couldn’t not be here. It’s been a strange few days and may she rest in peace.

“She was against the system and spoke out against the system and she was a voice for someone like me ... she spoke for a lot of women in Ireland and I admired and respected her.”