A coroner has determined that Sinéad O’Connor died of natural causes.
A brief statement from Southwark coroner’s court in London, the city where the singer-songwriter had been living at the end of her life, said: “This is to confirm that Ms O’Connor died of natural causes. The coroner has therefore ceased their involvement in her death.”
O’Connor died in July last year, aged 56. After responding to reports of an “unresponsive woman” in Herne Hill, south London, police said at the time they were not treating the death as suspicious.
Her death prompted an outpouring of grief from admirers including the taoiseach of her native Ireland, Leo Varadkar, who said “her music was loved around the world and her talent was unmatched and beyond compare”. The country’s president Michael D Higgins hailed O’Connor’s “unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her”.
Earlier that month, O’Connor had filmed herself in her Herne Hill flat, saying she had recently moved there and was intending to record new songs.
During her career O’Connor had a global hit with her cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U and topped the album chart on both sides of the Atlantic with 1990’s I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. She recorded nine other acclaimed studio albums, most recently I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss in 2014.
A concert paying tribute to her and another late Irish star, Shane MacGowan, has been announced for 20 March in New York City, with artists including Cat Power and David Gray.
Sophie Anderson, a UK-based writer, is your guide to the latest trends, viral sensations, and internet phenomena. With a finger on the pulse of digital culture, she explores what’s trending across social media and pop culture, keeping readers in the know about the latest online sensations.
