Coroner releases cause of death for singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor

LONDON (AP) — Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor died from “natural causes” in July, a coroner said Tuesday.

London’s Metropolitan Police had said the singer’s death was not considered suspicious after she was found unresponsive at a home in southeast London on July 26. O’Connor was 56.

The Southwark Coroner’s Court confirmed that O’Connor died of natural causes, which means circumstances when an illness or condition is not linked to external forces. It did not provide details.

The singer, who began her career performing on the streets of Dublin, rose to worldwide fame with her cover of Prince’s ballad “Nothing Compares 2 U,” released in 1990.

O’Connor was public about her mental illness and was hospitalized after her teenage son, Shane, died by suicide in 2022.

A lifelong non-conformist, O’Connor was known for her outspoken political and cultural stances and fierce criticism of the Roman Catholic Church, long before allegations of sexual abuse in the clergy were widely reported.

Thousands of fans lined the streets of Bray, the Irish town she had called home, during a funeral procession in August. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar attended, along with U2’s Bono.