Aisling Bea has paid tribute to ‘original truthsayer’ Sinéad O’Connor following her death aged 56.
The This Way Up actress was one of many stars that remembered the Irish singer not only for her contribution to music but for her activism in the wake of her passing, which was confirmed by her family on Wednesday and has sparked an outpouring of tributes from across the world.
Remembering O’Connor, the comedian shared how “desperately sad” the loss is for both “music and Ireland” as she reflected on the time they appeared on Ireland’s Late Late Show a few years ago alongside Lewis Capaldi and Love Island stars Greg O’Shea and Maura Higgins.
Bea shared in a lengthy Instagram post: “I did the Late Late Show with her a few years ago, a classic Irish line-up of all sorts of us, but I’d like to think including some women making their own paths in their worlds and not ones likely to be told to be quiet.
“She was an absolute hero of mine and one of the few people I’ve ever been star struck by. I think she could tell because I became a chatty mess.
“She was dry and funny and kind and sharp and incredibly gentle.”
The Irish star also pointed to the documentary about O’Connor’s life, Nothing Compares, writing that it was both inspiring and “desperately sad”.
The 39-year-old continued: “Not just because of what she went through but because of how she was treated, often by her own.
“She was vilified, humiliated at times, metaphorically crucified when alone and in her twenties.
“Everything she stood up for and against then, including racism in the music industry, has been proven to have been needed and right.”
She explained, “O’Connor ‘wasn’t just trying to look out for herself’. She was the original truth sayer who wouldn’t go easy into the night.
“The original ‘difficult’ woman who didn’t make it easy. Because easy wasn’t the right thing to do and it wasn’t the truth. Gone too soon. Nothing compares to you.”
O’Connor was known for her outspoken activism across a number of issues, and frequently spoke out about the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.
In 1992, she famously tore up a photograph of Pope John Paul II while appearing as a guest on Saturday Night Live. Her actions resulted in her being banned for life by broadcaster NBC and sparked protests in the US.
And in 1990, she said she would refuse to go on stage in New Jersey if the Star-Spangled Banner was performed.
On Thursday, police confirmed that O’Connor was found dead at her home in south London.
In a statement, police confirmed she was discovered unresponsive on Wednesday morning at her home in the Brockwell area of the capital, and added that her death is “not being treated as suspicious”.
A Scotland Yard spokesperson said: “Police were called at 11.18pm on Wednesday, July 26 to reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address in the SE24 area.
“Officers attended. A 56-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Next of kin have been notified. The death is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for the Coroner.”
