Fans in Bray ensure Sinéad O’Connor got a people’s state funeral

Fans place flowers on the hearse as thousands follow Sinéad O'Connor's cortege down Bray seafront. Picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos

They came in their thousands, some with flowers, some with placards, and all together on the streets of Bray, they gave Sinéad O’Connor a people’s state funeral.

A crowd of around 3,000 poured onto the streets of Bray as the cortege carrying the “daughter of Ireland” was driven through her adopted home in Co Wicklow.

In true rock star style, a VW camper van drove ahead of the hearse draped in the Rastafarian and Pride colours, with a large speaker on the roof blaring out Bob Marley’s ‘Natural Mystic’.

As the vehicle approached her former home “Montebello” on Strand Rd facing the sea at around 11.10am, the crowds could not contain their emotions.

People openly wept and embraced each other while hundreds of flowers were thrown on the hearse.

A private funeral service took place before the procession which was attended by her family and close friends who did not follow the hearse.

Instead, they gave fans the opportunity to share their grief together with their “beloved Sinéad” as she made her final journey to her resting place.

Fans of singer Sinéad O'Connor line the streets for a "last goodbye" to the Irish singer as her funeral cortege passes through her former hometown of Bray, Co Wicklow. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

As the crowd followed the hearse, some touched the back window where a black-and-white image of the singer was positioned.

Only a tiny part of Ms O’Connor’s coffin could be seen because it was covered in baby pink, blue and white coloured flowers.

The hearse stopped at the musician’s former home of 15 years, where she received a 10-minute applause.

One woman summed up what many were feeling when she could be heard saying: “I wish she knew how much she was loved.”

Rose McKinney, 84, from Galway — who survived the Tuam mother and baby home — arrived at 9am to attend the procession.

“Sinéad gave us a voice and now we’ll be here for her on her final journey,” said Ms McKinney.

Camera phones were held at every angle to catch a glimpse of the cortege as it moved through the crowds.

The world’s media had been in situ since 6am when many fans from all over the world also began to arrive.

Sinéad O’Connor. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Dr Umar Al-Qadri, the chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland in Dublin, presided over her funeral service. He thanked Sinéad O’Connor’s family who allowed the Muslim funeral to take place and said he was the person that initiated her into Islam in 2018.

He said: “It is a great honour and privilege for me, something that I will always cherish, that I was also the person that led the prayer this morning. We have lost an incredible soul, an incredible human being, and one that made the Irish nation so proud.

She had, he said, “suffered more than her share of hardship and adversity”.

Dr Umar Al-Qadri added: "Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.

“Sinéad’s voice carried with it an undertone of hope, of finding one’s way home. The Irish people have long found solace in song from the sufferings of this lower abode, and Sinéad was no exception, and in sharing that solace, she brought joy to countless people the world over.

“May her family and loved ones find solace in the outpouring of love from the corners of this earth for this unique daughter of Ireland who moved so many hearts with her mighty voice and unflinching honesty as an artist, poet, and human being.”

The service was attended by Sinéad’s family as well as President Michael D Higgins and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. Members of U2 were also in attendance, including Bono, The Edge and Adam Clayton, as well as Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof.

In Bray, Liam Ó Maonlaí of The Hothouse Flowers, and Ken Doyle of Bagatelle, who was a neighbour of O’Connor, joined the crowd as they sang her hit songs including ‘ Nothing Compares 2 U’ and ‘Thank you for Loving Me’.