The cause of death for Irish singer Sinead O'Connor’s death has been revealed, months after she passed away.
The 56-year-old died of “natural causes” at the age of 56, the London Inner South Coroner’s Court confirmed in a statement Tuesday to multiple news outlets. Other details about her death were not provided, although officials said at the time that her death wasn’t considered suspicious.
A spokesperson for the London Metropolitan Police, or Scotland Yard, had told news outlets last year that her death was “not being treated as suspicious” at the time.
Andre Rebello, secretary for the Coroners’ Society of England and Wales, told The Washington Post on Tuesday that “all deaths by suicide are ‘unnatural.’ Most deaths from natural causes are not reported to any coroner but if a coroner found natural causes it would never be a suicide.”
In July 2023, the “Nothing Compares 2 U” singer was found unresponsive at a home in London, and the next day, the Coroner Court website confirmed the “death of Sinead O'Connor in Lambeth,” which was notified to the coroner. A the time, “no medical cause of death was given,” it said, it was reported.
It further said that “the Coroner therefore directed an autopsy to be conducted. The results of this may not [be available] for several weeks,” according to a statement. “The decision whether an inquest will be needed will be decided when these results are known and submissions have been heard from the family,” it continued.
“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,” her family said in a statement in July, coming after her death was reported.
About a month after she died, the O'Connor family released a new statement thanking people for their support and respecting the family’s request for privacy.
“Our thanks to the media personnel in general at home and abroad who celebrated Sinéad in song and story while showing respect for the privacy requested by the family. We ask that this privacy continue to be respected,” the family said.
The statement added: “Finally, we wish to thank Sinéad’s fans and admirers for the wonderful funeral procession they gave her past her old home in Bray and for the national and international outpouring of love and affection for Sinéad from the time of her passing. The prayers and thanks of the extended O’Connor family are with you all.”
After her death, a number of tributes honored her impact on the music industry.
Smashing Pumpkins singer Billy Corgan wrote on Instagram: “Fiercely honest and sweet and funny, she was talented in ways I’m not sure she completely understood. But Sinead stands alone as a figure from our generation who was always true to the piercing voice within and without.”
Days before her death, the Irish singer revealed she was working on new music. “Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence. Very happy to be home : ) Soon finishing my album. Release early next year : ),” she wrote on Facebook on July 11. “Hopefully Touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025.”
Ms. O'Connor’s passing followed the death of her 17-year-old son, Shane O’Connor, in 2022. Ms. O’Connor is survived by her three other children.
