Sinéad O’Connor left specific instructions for her kids in the event of her death
Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor left her children with specific instructions to follow in the event of her death.
O'Connor was mum to four kids; Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters, Shane Lunny and her youngest, Yeshua Bonadio.
The mum sadly lost one of her sons, Shane, last year, and on Wednesday (26 July) O'Connor's family announced that she herself had passed away at the age of 56.
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No cause of death was given for O'Connor, but in a statement the Met police said her passing was not being treated as suspicious.
"Police were called at 11:18hrs on Wednesday, 26 July to reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address in the SE24 area," the police said.
"Officers attended. A 56-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene."
O'Connor's death came two years after the singer spoke to People about the instructions she had for her family should she pass away, which related to her desire to protect her art and finances.
"See, when the artists are dead, they're much more valuable than when they're alive. Tupac has released way more albums since he died than he ever did alive, so it's kind of gross what record companies do," O'Connor told People at the time.
With that in mind, O'Connor told her family they should contact her accountant before they contact emergency services to inform them of her passing.
"I've always instructed my children since they were very small, 'If your mother drops dead tomorrow, before you called 911, call my accountant and make sure the record companies don't start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is'," she said.
O'Connor used the late artist Prince as an example of what may happen to her music if her family didn't move to protect it, saying: "All musicians, we have songs that we really are embarrassed about that are c**p. We don't want anyone hearing them.
"Now [Prince] is a man who released every song he ever recorded, so if he went to the trouble of building a vault, which is a pretty strong thing to do, that means he really did not want these songs released. And I can't stand that people are, as I put it, 'raping' the vault."
O'Connor recorded 10 studio albums throughout her career, with her music earning her eight Grammy nominations and one win.
One of the singer's best-known tracks was 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which was originally written by Prince before being released by O'Connor in 1990.
When they announced her death, O'Connor's family said: "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."
Emily Brown