Sinead O’Connor was remembered by her friend Bob Geldof as he recalled their final conversations leading up to the singer’s tragic death. Bob, 71, performed at the Cavan Calling festival in Ireland this weekend and detailed some of the final text messages he received from Sinead before she passed away at the age of 56. “We were talking right up to a couple of weeks ago. Some of her texts were laden with desperation and despair and sorrow and some were ecstatically happy,” Bob said to the fans, according to the Daily Mail. “She was like that.”
Bob called Sinead his “very good friend” as he continued to honor the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer on stage. “She meant a lot to everybody, she meant a lot to us,” he said. “Her voice represented her soul and spirit. And whenever we hear that, we will always be with a great woman.” Bob added, “There’s no other option, as all of you know, than to just keep on. Many, many times Sinead was full of a terrible loneliness and a terrible despair.”
Sinead’s passing was announced on Wednesday, July 26. Her family released a statement sharing the sad news of her death. “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” they said, per The Irish Times. Police later shared a statement saying that her death “is not being treated as suspicious,” per People.
Sinead struggled with mental health issues leading up to her death. She was deeply entrenched in grief over the loss of her late son Shane, who died by suicide at 17 in January 2022. Sinead expressed sadness over her child’s suicide exactly nine days before she died. “Been living as undead night creature since,” she wrote via Twitter on July 17. “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 without him.”
Sinead was also dealing with various health battles, including bipolar disorder. “I don’t think I was born with bipolar disorder—I believe it was created as a result of the violence I experienced,” she said on the Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. In November 2020, Sinead postponed her 2021 tour and entered a year-long treatment for trauma and addiction.
Sinead has been honored by so many celebrities since her passing. Stars like Russell Crowe, Jamie Lee Curtis, Melissa Etheridge, Diane Warren, and more took to social media to honor the late Irish superstar with beautiful tributes.