Sinead O’Connor ‘happy and smiling’ just days before shock death, neighbours say

SINEAD O’Connor was “happy and smiling” just days before her tragic death, heartbroken neighbours said.

The 56-year-old music icon died yesterday in London, just 18 months after the devastating loss of her son Shane.

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Cops were called to her flat in southeast London where the singer was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.

Sinead had only just moved to London in recent weeks, confirming in July that she was basing herself there again after 23 years.

She posted on Facebook: “Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence. Very happy to be home. Soon finishing my album. Release early next year.”

Neighbours living close to her London pad told today how they saw her in good spirits just weeks ago.

Neighbour Farath Moragammanage said: “I last saw her about two weeks ago. She seemed happy and was smiling and waved.

“She was with a friend and she said she was going to Brixton with a friend from Ireland.

“She told me she was a famous singer and she must have moved in about weeks six weeks or so ago. She was living there on her own.”

Farath said neighbours saw a private ambulance arrive at the apartment block on Wednesday afternoon, telling MailOnline: “Around 5pm on Wednesday I saw a private ambulance turn up and it was there for a few hours before leaving.

“I didn’t make the connection until I saw the news and realised it was my neighbour. It’s so sad. I feel so sorry for her.”

Clyre Day, 71, who also lived near Sinead, told how she had often seen the Dublin star looking over her balcony and speaking to locals in the area.

A third neighbour added: “I would often see her on the street smoking a cigarette and we would exchange a few words every now and then.”

CAUSE OF DEATH UPDATE

No medical cause has been given for Sinead’s death, which is not being treated as suspicious, but an autopsy will be conducted.

London Inner South Coroner’s Court said: “The death of Sinead O’Connor in Lambeth was notified to the Coroner on Wednesday July 26 2023.

“No medical cause of death was given. The Coroner therefore directed an autopsy to be conducted. The results of this may not available for several weeks.

“The decision whether an inquest will be needed will be decided when these results are known and submissions have been heard from the family.

“If an inquest is to be opened, the date of the brief public hearing will be provided on our website.”

Tributes have been placed in Sinead’s memory at the Irish Rock ‘n’ Roll Museum in the Temple Bar area of Dublin, where a simple cardboard sign reads: “Thank you Sinead, we heard you.”

Heartbroken fans also flocked to Sinead’s former Bray home to lay flowers and photographs in her memory.

Sinead sold her seafront abode for over €1million back in 2021.

But locals who knew and loved her said it was a “sad, sad day” as they gathered to leave flowers, candles and tributes at the Nothing Compares 2 U icon’s former home.

One handwritten note on Sinead’s picture on the front of a newspaper simply read: “Incomparable xx.”

A heartbroken neighbour told Newstalk: “We saw Sinead sitting out the front here during Covid a lot. Speaking to people and seeming very relaxed.

“It is a sad day, a sad day. Everyone keeps saying the same thing. It’s just poor Sinead and hopefully she is at peace now.”

STARS MOURN

And Annie Lennox, Chrissie Hynde and Viola Davis are among the stars who have remembered Sinead as “bold and beautiful” with a “God-given voice”.

O’Connor, who was catapulted to fame in the 1990s with her version of the hit ballad Nothing Compares 2 U, was also known for being outspoken about her political and social views.

Scottish singer Lennox hailed O’Connor as “bold and beautiful” and a “truth teller” in a poetic tribute.

Alongside a close-up photo of the Irish singer’s face, Lennox spoke further about her artistic talents, writing: “Sinead… You bared your soul… Shared your brilliance / Through exquisite artistry

“Your incredible voice.. Fierce and fragile / Lioness and lamb / Sweet singing bird / Keenly tuned / Trembling..”

She added: “May the angels hold you in their tender arms and give you rest in peace.”

The Pretenders star Hynde described O’Connor as “a one-off and a huge talent”.

Speaking on The Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2, she recalled working with O’Connor on a tribute concert for Linda McCartney, saying: “She was such a riot to hang out with.

“She was a good fun person, but she was always angling, stirring it up. She was a real poking-the-hornet’s-nest kind (of person). Certainly a one-off and a huge talent and all this stuff that you read about.

“I was glad to see she’d got out of it, to be honest. She’s had a bad time in the last few years.”

‘BETTER PLACE’

Hynde added: “She’s in, without question, a better place. She was a tender-hearted person so she will be. Fly on, sweet angel.”

Oscar-winning actress Davis thanked the Irish singer for her “talent and voice” in a post on Instagram, adding: “Yesterday the world lost a great.”

US singer Cyndi Lauper said O’Connor was a “unique talent who made an indelible mark on pop culture”.

She added: “Outspoken and brave. A lot of trials and tribulations. A great artist with an incredible voice. She will be missed.”

Sinead is survived by three children – Jake, Roisin and Yeshua.

In January 2022, she announced that her 17 year-old son Shane had died.

And in a heartbreaking final video message to fans earlier this month, she told how “losing a kid isn’t good for the soul”.

Sinead posted the clip to her Twitter account on July 19 after some of her followers questioned if the page belonged to the star.

She wrote: “Hey, some folks been asking I make video to prove identity..

“I think we’re in HD, I look like shit either way, which is why I didn’t want to make a video but you know the way your kid unfortunately passing away isn’t good for one’s body. Poor soul to be fair.

“But anyway look, let’s not dwell on bad. Anyway, hi guys. Let’s see can I flip the camera around there, there’s a bunch of flowers my friend gave me today in my nice flat.

“There’s my new Johnny f*****g Cash guitar I am going to write some tunes on and yeah that’s all I can show you because the place is a s*** hole but there you go, it’s this crazy witch.”

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