Sinéad Marie Bernadette O'Connor was born December 8, 1966. The daughter of a barrister and a dressmaker, O’Connor was born in Dublin, Ireland. Her parents divorced when she was eight years old, and O’Connor and her siblings were sent to live with their abusive mother, who beat the children on a regular basis. Eventually, O’Connor left to live with her father and stepmother, but the child, proved to be too much for the couple. At the age of 15, following acts of shoplifting and truancy, O'Connor was placed for 18 months in a Magdalene asylum, the Grianán Training Centre in Drumcondra, which was run by the Order of Our Lady of Charity. She thrived in certain aspects, particularly in the development of her writing and music, but she chafed under the imposed conformity of the asylum, despite being given freedoms not granted to the other girls, such as attending an outside school and being allowed to listen to music, write songs, etc.

A teacher introduced her to the drummer of a local band, In Tua Nua, and for a brief period O’Connor worked with the band and even cowrote one of their hit singles. After a year and a half  O’Connor was transferred to a boarding school in Waterford, but it proved unbearable; she eventually ran back to Dublin, where she attempted to start her own music career.

In Dublin O’Connor eventually joined the pub-rock band Ton Ton Macoute. In 1985, while singing with the group, O’Connor attracted the attention of the London-based record label Ensign Records, which asked O’Connor for a demo tape. Soon afterward O’Connor signed a contract with the label and began work on her debut album, The Lion and the Cobra, which was released in 1987 to critical praise. She followed the album with the largely autobiographical I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990). The album was propelled to the top of the U.S. pop charts on the strength of the number one single “Nothing Compares 2 U”—a transcendent cover of a 1985 Prince song.

O’Connor won the Grammy for best alternative music performance in 1991 for I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got and continued to be highly regarded for her musical abilities.

In 1992 O’Connor released an album of torch songs, Am I Not Your Girl?, which received only minor publicity, and she released a fourth album, Universal Mother, in 1994. Soon afterward she took a hiatus from public life, spending time with her children and attending therapy in order to work through problems that lingered from her harsh childhood. O’Connor’s struggles with mental health would continue throughout her life.

She was ordained a priest in a controversial religious group led by Bishop Michael Cox, the leader of a religious sect that had broken off from the Roman Catholic Church. In 2000 O’Connor released her fifth album, Faith and Courage, which included the hit song “No Man’s Woman.” The album was praised by several music reviewers as one of the best albums of the year. Subsequent albums include Sean-Nós Nua (2002), Throw Down Your Arms (2005), Theology (2007), How About I Be Me (and You Be You)? (2012), and I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss (2014).

In 2018 O’Connor announced that she had converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhadāʾ Sadaqat, although she stated that she would continue to perform as Sinéad O’Connor. Her memoir Rememberings (2021) received broad critical praise, and she was the subject of a critically acclaimed documentary Nothing Compares (2022).

O’Connor was presented with the inaugural award for Classic Irish Album at the RTÉ Choice Music Awards early in 2023. The singer received a standing ovation as she dedicated the award for the album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, to “each and every member of Ireland’s refugee community”. “You’re very welcome in Ireland. I love you very much and I wish you happiness,” she said.

On 26 July 2023, O'Connor was found unresponsive at her flat in Herne Hill, South London, and confirmed dead at the age of 56. On 9 January 2024, the London Inner Southwark Coroner's Court stated that O'Connor died of natural causes.

President Michael D Higgins led the tributes to O’Connor, saying his “first reaction on hearing the news of Sinéad’s loss was to remember her extraordinarily beautiful, unique voice”.

“To those of us who had the privilege of knowing her, one couldn’t but always be struck by the depth of her fearless commitment to the important issues which she brought to public attention, no matter how uncomfortable those truths may have been,” he said.

“What Ireland has lost at such a relatively young age is one of our greatest and most gifted composers, songwriters and performers of recent decades, one who had a unique talent and extraordinary connection with her audience, all of whom held such love and warmth for her ... May her spirit find the peace she sought in so many different ways.”

Sinéad O’Connor was an Irish singer-songwriter, who was dubbed the first superstar of the 1990s by Rolling Stone magazine. During her career she attracted publicity not only for her voice, which was alternately searing and soothing, but also for her controversial actions and statements.

When Sinéad O’Connor died last year of natural causes, an outpouring of love and regret flooded social media over the loss of a massive talent and truth teller. For an artist who primarily regarded herself as a protest singer, pop stardom was never a cozy fit for O’Connor, especially in the early ’90s, when her actions were construed as agitprop or merely baffling. But her views and politics on religion, informed by growing up under an oppressive Irish government and Catholic Church, were deeply personal.