Funeral Procession Held For Sinéad O’Connor in Irish Town of Bray
The Irish town of Bray bid farewell to Sinéad O’Connor in a funeral procession attended by Bob Geldof, Bono, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, and Irish President Michael D Higgins. Thousands of fans joined the cortege that started at the Harbour Bar and followed a route along the seafront in Bray, County Wicklow.
The procession stopped by the house where O’Connor lived for 15 years before a private burial ceremony took place. People walked behind the hearse, many throwing flowers and with their heads bowed, in a display of admiration for the singer and activist.
President Higgins said that the sheer amount of people arriving for the funeral cortege “demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people”. Bob Geldof, a longtime friend of O’Connor, was seen riding in a white taxi as part of the funeral cortege, passing mourners lined outside the late singer’s former home. He had paid tribute to O’Connor during Cavan Calling festival in Ireland on July 31, saying that “she meant a lot to us” and that “she had a voice like none of us have ever heard – so pure”.
The cortege was led by a VW camper van, which played music from four large speakers on the roof. One of the tracks played was ‘Natural Mystic’ by Bob Marley and the Wailers, a homage to one of O’Connor’s personal heroes.
Candles, images of the singer and even political banners were held by those awaiting the funeral cortege, and fans also placed flowers on the windscreen of the cars that drove by. A eulogy was led by Shaykh Dr Umar al Qadri from the Islamic Centre of Ireland, who said that “the more she sang and spoke about her own pain, as well as about the pervasive sins in society that she witnessed, the more her voice and her words resonated with listeners and touched their hearts”.
Earlier in the morning, a heartwarming tribute had been installed on cliffs overlooking the coast town, designed by Dublin-based creative agency The Tenth Man. It showed the words ‘Eire’, the Irish name for Ireland, and ‘Sinéad’ joined by a heart.
News of O’Connor’s death broke last month (July 26), after she was found unresponsive in her London home. She was pronounced dead at the scene, aged 56. Sinéad O’Connor leaves behind a legacy of incredible music and activism that will be remembered for years to come.
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