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Hundreds gather to say goodbye to Sinéad O'Connor at funeral procession in Ireland

2023-08-08 20:48
Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay tribute to the late Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor on Tuesday, cheering, clapping and throwing flowers as her funeral cortege drove past her old house in Bray, County Wicklow, in Ireland.
Hundreds gather to say goodbye to Sinéad O'Connor at funeral procession in Ireland

Hundreds of people lined the streets to pay tribute to the late Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor on Tuesday, cheering, clapping and throwing flowers as her funeral cortege drove past her old house in Bray, County Wicklow, in Ireland.

O'Connor's coffin was covered in blue, white and pink flowers. A photograph of the singer was also visible through the back window of the cortege. The singer died last month, age 56.

Some in the crowd had been waiting for more than two hours, singing along and dancing to O'Connor's music which was being played from a Volkswagen Beetle van draped in rainbow flags.

Amongst the crowd were children with teddy bears and scooters. People wore Irish hats, scarves and flags, carried flowers, banners and even a guitar. Many brought their dogs along.

Whilst O'Connor had a public funeral procession, her burial was held privately.

According to Ireland's public broadcaster RTE, the Irish Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Leo Varadkar was amongst the dignitaries who attended the private burial service, alongside the Irish President Michael D. Higgins and his wife Sabina.

Singers Bob Geldof and U2's Bono were also present, RTE reported.

O'Connor was known for her political activism and many of the crowd followed suit. One man carried a sign protesting Ireland's treatment of children in care homes and orphanages, while another woman wore a Free Palestine T-shirt. Several people waved pride flags.

O'Connor's funeral took place on Tuesday morning and was led by the Chief Imam of the Islamic Centre of Ireland, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, who said on X -- formerly known as Twitter -- that he extends his "heartfelt appreciation" to the family for recognizing and embracing her Muslim identity.

In O'Connor's eulogy, Al-Qadri said that O'Connor "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."

"The more she sang and spoke about her own pain, as well as about the pervasive sins in society that she witnessed, the more her voice and her words resonated with listeners and touched their hearts," he added.