The final resting place of the singer Sinead O’Connor is a peaceful plot in south Dublin called The Garden.
Pale roses adorned her grave in Deansgrange cemetery, accompanied by blue hydrangeas that had surrounded her coffin as it was driven through the coastal town of Bray, Co Wicklow, on Tuesday.
Hundreds of locals and fans of the singer gathered outside her former house, Montebello, where she had lived for 15 years, after her family asked that people stand along the Strand Road for “a last goodbye”.
The singer’s former home, sold in 2021 and now lying empty, was turned into a make-shift shrine since her death in London two weeks ago, aged 56.
The wall outside the singer’s former home has been covered with flowers, photos and candles, as well as handwritten notes addressed to the singer to thank her for her voice, her music and her bravery.
At a private funeral service held on Tuesday – attended by the Irish President Michael D Higgins, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and U2 frontman Bono – Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri delivered an Islamic prayer for O’Connor.
The Chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland also posted a eulogy online, paying tribute to her “otherworldly voice” and commended her as a “symphony of unity” that “transcended boundaries”.
After the service, the hearse carrying her coffin travelled through throngs of mourners and past her former home – to the sound of Bob Marley being played from a Volkswagen camper van decorated with the Pride and Rastafarian flags.
People followed the procession down the road, some dancing, some weeping, some touching the window at the back of the hearse which carried a photo of Sinead, before the cortege travelled on to a private burial on Tuesday.
