Russell Crowe shared a moving tribute to Sinéad O’Connor following her death aged 56.
The Irish singer was pronounced dead by her family who released a statement to RTE that said: ‘It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead.
‘Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.’
Throughout her career, after being propelled to fame in 1990 with Nothing Compares 2 U, she raised awareness and spoke openly about her religious journey, activism and mental health struggles.
She took a break from performing last year due to grieving over the death of her son Shane, aged 17.
Tributes to the musician have poured in as heartbroken fans expressed their grief at the loss of a musical icon.
Hollywood star Crowe, 59, reflected on a special meeting with O’Connor in the seaside Dublin suburb of Dalkey in 2022.
‘Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us. Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf,’ he penned.
‘One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman. Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waved me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness “oh, it’s you Russell.”‘
He continued: ‘She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea. In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer. I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine.
‘When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights. We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman.
‘Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.’
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer’s death comes a year after her son Shane took his own life at the age of 17.
O’Connor posted a photo of her late son in her last ever Twitter message, saying: ‘Been living as undead night creature since. He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul.
‘We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him.’
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