2023-08-08 17:44:48
Thousands of people said a last goodbye to Sineád O’Connor on Tuesday as the singer’s coffin passed through the coastal town of Braywhere he made an emotional stop at the house where he lived facing the sea for 15 years.
Fans, friends, musicians and neighbors of the artist, who died last month in London at 56 yearsthey sang, danced and cried to the sound of their songs, amplified from the dilapidated and colorful van that led the funeral procession along the seafront of this town near Dublin.
Later, the procession of vehicles continued on its way to attend a private burial, as reported by O’Connor’s family, who said in a statement: “I loved living in Bray and its people.”
Before their last journey along the seafront of this small town, relatives attended a private funeral service, which was also attended by the President of the Republic of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
The service included prayers from the imam Shaykh Omar Al-Qadri, in honor of the religion of Sinéad O’Connor, who converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Martyrdom of Sadaqat.
In addition to floral offerings and photographs, her neighbors remembered today with banners the vindictive character of the artist, recognized worldwide for her music, but also for the causes she defended, such as the rights of women, minors and the LGTBI community, among others.
“The more he sang and spoke of his own pain, as well as the ever-present sins of society he witnessed, the more his voice and words resonated with his audience, to which he touched the heart,” Al-Qadri stressed in his prayer.
The imam stressed that “all the faithful of the world” will now remember the “beloved daughter of Ireland“Among them, he added, “the many Muslims who will pray for their sister of faith and humanity.”
The most emotional moment of the passage of Sinéad’s coffin took place in front of her house in Montebelloin the middle of the promenade of Brayturned into a “hall of fame” and altar for the Irish.
“It meant a lot to me when I was younger., his music, his first album, my first concert. I admired her so much because she used her voice to defend refugees, the LGTBI community and to denounce racism,” Veronica, the same age as the artist and who traveled from the west of Ireland at dawn to say goodbye, told EFE.
He wanted to pay his respects, “pray for her” and to “feel her spirit” on a day when “she has brought us the sun” after several weeks of incessant rain: “Thank you Sinéad,” Veronica added.
In addition to her contemporaries, O’Connor’s death has served to remind the youngest that the singer was ahead of her time, a voice against abuse committed against minors by Catholic priests and against the omnipresent power of the Church in Irish society regarding issues such as abortion or homosexual marriage.
“That is a way of being, a difficult path to follow”observes Sarah, 41, about the almost “prophetic” character of Sinéad, whose criticism of the established power earned her a certain unpopularity among the most conservative sectors.
“She represented female power, the power of women, the one who told the truth about what wasn’t right, about things that were inappropriate. She spoke on behalf of the voiceless and was persecuted for it. She taught me to have courage “, celebrated this Dubliner.
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