Sinéad

Sinéad O’Connor's passing had a massive impact on me.....So much so, I have delayed in sharing how I feel until now. I have been a fan of Sinéad and her music for many years and have followed her journey for a very long time. I have always admired her integrity and her courage as she spoke about her own traumatic experiences throughout her life. She, like many other brave Irish women before her, used the platform she was given to speak out about the atrocities inflicted on the most vulnerable people in our society and for that, she was judged, shamed and isolated. But she refused to be silent. Through her music she continued to highlight the many issues associated with poverty, racism and discrimination and campaigned endlessly to raise awareness around the harm inflicted on women and children around the world, especially those who were forced to endure and remain silent about the horrors they suffered by people associated with the Catholic Church. In 1992 she protested against the sexual abuse of children by tearing up a picture of the Pope, an act that had a huge impact on her musical career but one that spoke volumes to the many survivors, including myself and certainly rocked the comfort of the 'powers that be'. It would be another 10 years before the world learned of the true extent of this abuse on Irish children and their families. Sinéad used her voice and in doing so, allowed us all to speak out....

This is a recent picture of Sinéad on Ireland's Late Late Show, singing 'Thank You for Hearing Me' which she sings with the same level of emotion that she had with all her music. I'm thrilled that she felt this way, yet I can't help but think that not enough people really 'Heard'. However, I have no doubt that they will in the future because her insight and her compassion will continue to influence people for many, many years to come. 💜