RIP Sinead O'Connor, 1966-2023

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Sinéad O’Connor was found “unresponsive” and “pronounced dead at the scene” at her London home — but her death is not being treated as suspicious, police said.

There will likely be a post-mortem examination to confirm the cause of death since it was sudden, authorities said.

The “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer died just weeks after moving into a new home and openly talking about new music and a tour in 2024.

It’s hard not to hear “Nothing Compares 2 U” — the unparalleled breakup ballad that turned Sinéad O’Connor’s tears into a chart-topping triumph — in an even more heartbreaking way today.

Indeed — after the Irish icon’s shocking passing on Wednesday at just 56 — nothing can take away these blues right now.

But while all those flowers planted in the backyard may have died, “Nothing Compares 2 U” signaled the bloom of a new era in rock after it went to No. 1 in the spring of 1990.

Following the ’80s domination of pop superstars including Michael Jackson, Madonna, Whitney Houston and Prince — who wrote “Nothing Compares 2 U” for the Family, his side project that originally released the song in 1985 — rising alt-rock star O’Connor represented a game change when her definitive version dropped in the first days of the decade.

After becoming a darling of the MTV “120 Minutes” crowd with her 1987 debut “The Lion and the Cobra,” O’Connor traded the album’s rocking, dance-driven “Mandinka” and “I Want Your (Hands on Me)” for something totally different and surprising: an emotionally bare ballad, dripping in strings and sorrow, that revealed a striking vulnerability.

No doubt — it cut even closer to the bone than her shaved head.

And then there was that iconic video, with O’Connor in crushing close-up, shedding that single tear. Back when videos really mattered, it won the ultimate Moonman, Video of the Year, at the 1990 MTV VMAs.

But while O’Connor would never again approach the ’90s chart heights of “Nothing Compares 2 U,” she had already left her mark on the decade by ushering in a new wave of female rockers.

From Hole’s Courtney Love and Garbage’s Shirley Manson to Alanis Morissette, Fiona Apple and Cranberries lead singer Dolores O’Riordan — O’Connor’s fellow Irishwoman, who also died prematurely in 2018 at age 46 — they all owe a debt to O’Connor.

And in so completely transforming a Prince song into her own — possibly rivaled only by Chaka Khan’s hip-hop makeover of “I Feel for You,” first released by the Purple One in 1979 — she accomplished the impossible.

In fact, it seemed strange when Madonna sang “Nothing Compares 2 U” in tribute to Prince after his April 2016 passing at that year’s Billboard Music Awards.

This was no longer Prince’s song — it belonged, forever and always, to Sinéad.

Since the loss of the luminously talented Sinéad O’Connor on Thursday, a deluge of condolences and tributes have poured in — but The Smiths frontman and perennial provocateur Morrissey isn’t convinced by the sudden admiration.

In a post titled “You Know I Couldn’t Last” uploaded to his personal website, the English singer-songwriter paid tribute to O’Connor, who died in her London home at age 56.

The title is a reference to one of Morrissey’s songs, and the content of the message is as much a callout as a tribute to the Irish musician and activist.

Morrissey took aim at the the industry and the public figures whom he claimed failed to offer O’Connor the support she needed and deserved while she was still alive, noting that “she was dropped by her label after selling 7 million albums for them.”

“There is a certain music industry hatred for singers who don’t ‘fit in,” he wrote, “and they are never praised until death — when, finally, they can’t answer back.”

The post continued, “The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinead today … with the usual moronic labels of ‘icon’ and ‘legend’ … You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you.

“She was a challenge, and she couldn’t be boxed-up, and she had the courage to speak when everyone else stayed safely silent. She was harassed simply for being herself. Her eyes finally closed in search of a soul she could call her own. As always, the lamestreamers miss the ringing point, and with unlocked jaws they return to the insultingly stupid ‘icon’ and ‘legend’ when last week words far more cruel and dismissive would have done.”

Morrissey also compared O’Connor to other female stars who were let down by the public in their time: Judy Garland, Whitney Houston, Amy Winehouse, Marilyn Monroe and Billie Holiday.

For Morrissey’s part, the singer has long been a fan of O’Connor. In the early 1990s, the pair were photographed having tea together by the Smiths singer’s longtime friend Linder Sterling.

Sinéad O’Connor lived her life poised between tradition and rebellion. Ireland’s farewell to her embraced both.

In keeping with an old custom, her coffin was first carried past her last family home in Ireland, in Bray, County Wicklow.

But many of those who gathered there, or who left her tributes, brought a spirit more in keeping with her life as a rebel who took on the establishment — most notably the Roman Catholic Church — and who spoke up for the oppressed. Among the signs left in front of her family home was one that read “BLACK LIVES MATTER,” “GAY PRIDE” and “REFUGEES WELCOME.”

At noon, the cortege reached Ms. O’Connor’s former home on Bray’s seaside promenade, led by a vintage Volkswagen van playing the song “Natural Mystic” by Bob Marley & The Wailers and draped with the Pride and Rastafarian flags. The crowd broke into prolonged applause, with some raising fists in salute. Many were in tears.

Then, as the police held the crowd back, the hearse, filled with flowers, was driven to a private funeral, followed by vehicles carrying family members and close friends. At 12:30, Irish radio stations coordinated to broadcast Ms. O’Connor’s song “Nothing Compares 2 U” in unison.

Friends including U2’s Bono and The Edge, as well as Bob Geldof, the rock star and activist, were in attendance.

While the family wished to keep the funeral private, they had invited the public to come to Bray for a last goodbye.

Some of those lining the streets were avid fans of her music. Others were activists, and there were also abuse survivors who had drawn strength from Ms. O’Connor’s openness about her own experience of childhood trauma.

Dave Sharp, who said that in his youth he had spent years in Catholic-run orphanages and been the victim of abuse, traveled to Bray from Glasgow on Monday.

“We didn’t have much notice, but I’d promised myself that I’d be there for her,” he said. “Sinéad O’Connor is one of the bravest women I’ve ever known of. She not only put her life and career on the line, but she was ahead of her time.”

Veronica Kelly, a social worker, caught a bus to Bray at 2 a.m. on Tuesday from the town of Carrick-on-Shannon to ensure she could pay her respects as the cortege passed. She said she admired Ms O’Connor’s compassion and the way she “used her voice” to speak for the disenfranchised. She was also a lifelong fan of her music.

“I couldn’t believe it when she died,” she said. “I still don’t want to believe it. She was my first album and the first concert I ever went to. She really spoke to me.”

The funeral was led by Sheikh Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic scholar and the chief imam at the Islamic Center of Ireland. In his eulogy, which he posted online after the ceremony, he spoke of how Ms. O’Connor’s “otherworldly” voice could reduce listeners to tears, citing her a cappella version of “Danny Boy,” and said that her music carried an undertone of hope that brought solace to many.

He also pointed to her faith. “Sinéad suffered more than her share of hardship and adversity, especially in her formative years, much of it from adults and institutions she revered, and yet she displayed an unflinching and resolute faith in the divine,” he said.

In recent days, among a rolling wave of tributes, a creative agency temporarily augmented a World War II territorial marker on nearby Bray Head to celebrate the singer. Where once it said “Eire” — Irish for Ireland — to warn belligerent aircraft that they were approaching neutral Irish territory, the giant sign now says “Eire Sinéad.”

The president of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, attended the funeral with his wife, Sabina. In a statement on Tuesday morning, he described Ms. O’Connor’s “profound impact” on the Irish people. Speaking of her “immense heroism” and the pain it caused her, he added: “That is why all those who are seeking to make a fist of their life, combining its different dimensions in their own way, can feel so free to express their grief at her loss.”

Her public struggles with mental health inspired protective feelings in fans and supporters, and added to the sorrow at news of her untimely death at age 56. Although an autopsy has been completed in London, no cause of death has yet been given.