Irish musician Sinéad O'Connor has endured a lot of abuse over the years, including from
a fellow musician who wrote one of the biggest songs of her career.
This is her tragic true story.
Sinéad O'Connor was born in 1966 in Dublin, Ireland.
Her parents Sean and Marie divorced when she was young, and she chose to live with her
father.
By the time she was 15, she began shoplifting and was then sent to one of Ireland's so-called
"Magdalene Laundries," sometimes called "Magdalene Asylums."
Young women were sent to these institutions usually because they were pregnant or because
they were engaged in what was considered to be antisocial behavior.
In many respects, O'Connor did well in the roughly year-and-a-half she spent in the Magdalene
Laundry, which was run by the Roman Catholic Church.
During this time, she even received her first guitar from a nun.
But, as she revealed in a 2010 piece for the Washington Post, it was far from an ideal
experience, as she also witnessed many instances of abuse at the hands of priests.
Although, how much of this behavior was targeted at O'Connor remains unclear.
Regardless, exposing abuse in the Catholic Church became one of O'Connor's top priorities
in her life, which has remained plenty clear throughout her music career.
Sinéad O'Connor may have only been a witness of abuse during her time at the Magdalene
Laundry, which she claims included corporal punishment, psychological abuse, and sexual
abuse.
But she wasn't only ever a witness, she was also a victim.
In particular, she was mistreated by her own mother, who died in a car accident when Sinéad
was 19.
Marie O'Connor experienced mental health and substance use disorders, and that pain extended
to her daughter, as she abused Sinéad both physically and sexually.
She even forced her to live outdoors in a shed for months at a time.
As the singer revealed on a 2017 episode of Dr. Phil:
"She ran a torture chamber.
It was a torture chamber.
She was a person who took delight and put a smile in hurting you."
But looking back at her childhood, O'Connor somehow found it in herself to forgive her
mother.
As she put it,
"I hate not being able to love her.
I hate not being able to take care of her, maybe give her some love back.
And help her, nobody helped her.
I hate that I can’t put my arms around her and tell her I love her and tell her she’s
all right and mother her."
"I would have taken care of her even if she was an absolute monster."
In 1992, Sinéad O'Connor was at the pinnacle of her professional music career.
But then she was the musical guest on the October 3 episode of Saturday Night Live,
and she infamously tore up a picture of Pope John Paul II at the end of her performance
of the Bob Marley song "War."
"Fight the real enemy!"
It was meant as a protest against alleged abuses within the Catholic Church, but this
act quickly divided her audience, putting her on trial in the court of public opinion.
One of the harshest reactions happened several weeks later, when she appeared at Bob Dylan's
30th anniversary concert, only to be roundly booed by the audience as she took to the stage
at Madison Square Garden.
One prominent voice joining the chorus of criticism was none other than Madonna, who
isn't exactly known for her support of the Catholic Church.
But she nevertheless wasn't a fan of O'Connor's protest.
As she put it,
"I think there is a better way to present her ideas, rather than ripping up an image
that means a lot to other people.
If she is against the Roman Catholic Church, and she has a problem with them, I think she
should talk about it."
In addition to her personal trauma and being a magnet for controversy, Sinéad O'Connor
also has to live with physical and mental challenges.
She's endured bouts with fibromyalgia, which causes musculoskeletal pain that's sometimes
a result of stress.
She's also experienced bipolar disorder, which is characterized by dramatic peaks and valleys
of hypomania and depression.
After briefly retiring from music, O'Connor talked with Harp Magazine about her fibromyalgia,
which she called a "chronic fatigue illness that painfully affects your muscles."
As she explained,
"When you get something like that it's a gift, actually, because you have to reassess your
life.
It's purely stress-related, so you have to get out of your life the things that are taking
your energy."
O'Connor discussed her bipolar disorder in a 2007 interview with Oprah Winfrey, as she
revealed that she was diagnosed around 2003 after a suicide attempt.
Although, after further mental health evaluation, she was later told that she may in fact not
be bipolar.
O'Connor reportedly had a rocky relationship with her fellow musician Prince, who wrote
the biggest hit of her career, "Nothing Compares 2 U."
The two even nearly came to blows during one incident.
As she put it to the Irish Independent in 2014,
"We didn't get on at all.
In fact, we had a punch-up."
She also called Prince "a devil worshiper" in her 2021 memoir Rememberings.
As she put it,
"I believe he was involved in devil business because an old girlfriend of his told me he
had the power to make s--- move around the room."
"Hang on, that doesn't sound like a joke.
That sounds serious."
"Oh, it's not a joke, no.
It's not a joke at all.
It was a very frightening experience actually."
From a difficult childhood to professional troubles stemming from her outspoken beliefs,
the road thus far has clearly not been easy for Sinéad O'Connor.
She still occasionally makes headlines, like when she announced that she was planning on
legally changing her name to Shuhada Sadaqat after converting to Islam, though she still
performs with her birth name.
No matter what name she goes by, we hope she'll continue to recover from all that she's lived
through, deliver new music to the world, and continue to share her important perspective
for many years to come.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.