Has there ever been a more conflicted, tragic, talented musician and mother than Sinead O’Connor?

O’Connor is best remembered as that 90’s bald singer who sang Nothing Compares 2 U. She is also most notoriously known as a controversial figure. She tore a picture of the Pope in live television, ordained herself a priest, stormed off at a Bob Dylan tribute concert, and got into a punch-out with Prince at his home.

O’Connor has also been known through her much publicized personal problems. She suffers from bipolar disorder, has four troubled marriages, estranged relationships with her children, and suicidal tendencies. Just late last year, O’Connor was hospitalized after an attempted suicide. She had just recently undergone surgery, and her younger children were taken away by their fathers. O’Connor posted cries for help on social media.

So for Mother Day’s, I thought it’d be a nice tribute to write about Sinead O’Connor and the hardship of motherhood.

Growing Up

Born in December 8, 1966 to Irish parents, Sinead grew up to a troubled childhood. She was third of five children. Their parents split when Sinead was 8 years old. She and her siblings were taken in the hands of their mother. She and her siblings endured abuse while growing up with their mom.

“I've been beaten with all things with which you can beat a child. I didn't get food, I was locked up for days in my room, without food and without clothes. I had to sleep in the garden at night.”

Sinead said that she suffered emotional and psychological abuse in the hands of her mother. She was told that she was worthless, filthy, and all those sad things. She even mentioned that her mother taught them how to steal. Her mother was a clever kleptomaniac and Sinead said that it’s where she got it from. Her mother encouraged them to steal. When Sinead was 14 years old, she got caught stealing and was sent to Grianan Training Centre, an institution for girls with behavioral problems.

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Sinead had the best time in the center. The nun that ran the place was the person who bought her first guitar. That was when Sinead’s interest in music flourished. She recorded songs, she sang in bands. In 1984 she sang for a band called Ton Ton Macoute. A reviewer even praised her onstage magnetism and voice. However, her time with the band was cut short when in 1985, her estranged mother died in a car accident.

Her mother’s death affected her. She grew up with the abuse in the hands of her mom but she still had place in her heart to forgive her.

“I love my mother. I've always loved my mother. I've always understood that she didn't mean it that way, even when she hit me. I've never hated her; I've never had a grudge against her. I've always understood that she suffered herself and that she didn't know what she was doing."

Success and Motherhood

Sinead later found success. The same year, O’Connor signed a record deal and moved from Ireland to London. She worked with U2 and made a song for the film Captive. In 1986, she began work on her debut album The Lion and the Cobra.

Then the young singer became a mother early. She got knocked up by her drummer John Reynold. Sinead was still 19 years old. Her recording company urged her to have an abortion so she decided to produce the album herself. She recorded the songs while heavily pregnant with her first child. A few months later, her son Jake and her first album made their debut in 1987.

A few years later, Sinead gained international fame after the release of her single Nothing Compares 2 U. A song she dedicates to her mother. She became a symbol in the early 90’s. She was the angry rebel, the new feminist. She bagan advocating against child abuse, and eventually turned out to be a controversial outspoken figure.

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She began dissing other artists and calling them frauds, she boycotted concerts. She became the first artist to boycott the Grammy Awards. Even though she was nominated in 1991 for several awards, she refused to accept them on the grounds that the Grammys promotes “extreme commercialism”. Frank Sinatra even offered to kick her in the ass.

O’Connor’s fame diminished in North America around the mid-90’s, but in Ireland she continued to be a polarizing figure. She was both praised and bashed on her opinions on the Catholic Church. O’Connor was bullied. Peter Gabriel even had a relationship with her, and she attempted suicide after knowing she was just a weekend thing.

In 1996, she had her second child Roisin. The father was the Irish journalist John Waters. A bitter custody battle for Roisin followed the next year.

By 1997, O’Connor retreated into spirituality. She ordained herself a priest and apologized for tearing up a picture of the Pope a few years back. However, her new religious freedom didn’t free her from her troubled life. She and Waters continue their custody battle over Roisin. On her 33rd birthday, O’Connor attempted suicide.

O’Connor survived and went on to record another album Faith and Courage. She became a lesbian but later in 2001 married journalist Nicholas Sommerland.

In 2003, O’Connor announced that she was retiring from music. After a month of the announcement, she discovered she’s pregnant with her third child. The baby Shane was conceived with fellow musician Donal Lunny, who left O’Connor when she was just eight weeks into her pregnancy.

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A year later, O’Connor was finally diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Her medication helped her focus on her family and home life. In 2005, she came out of retirement and released a collaboration album and a reggae cover album.

In 2006, she got embroiled in an infidelity scandal. Her new lover was Frank Bonadio, the estranged husband of Irish singer Mary Coughlan. O’Connor and Coughlan exchanged words on tabloids. O’Connor even told the Irish singer to be very afraid and reminded her that she eats crazy bitches for breakfast. O’Connor becomes pregnant with her fourth child Yeshua.

In 2010, she ends her relationship with Bonadio, collaborates with Mary J. Blige, and marries her bandmate Steve Cooney. She reportedly has said that she was having a happy marriage, but O’Connor has taken to Twitter to post suicidal thoughts and cries for help. O’Connor publicly admitted her uncertainty about coping with motherhood and has broken up with Cooney.

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At 44 years old, O’Connor posted on social media that she was on a manhunt. Her depression worsened. She got married to a man in Las Vegas, went into a drug-fueled adventure with him, and seperated 18 days later.

In November 2015, O’Connor posted on Facebook a rant letter that doubled as a suicide note. She claimed that her ex-husbands, children, and even her son’s girfriend have inflicted “appaling cruelty” on her. O’Connor’s children have been taken away from her, she has just gotten out of a surgery, and her third son Shane was suffering with a life-threatening medical condition. She expressed in the suicide letter that she is “a rotten horrible person and mother”, and that she “doesn’t matter a shred to anyone”.

O’Connor was sent to the hospital where her husbands and children visited. She posted a tweet after saying “To my children and family... I need you. I need your love.”

It is difficult to live a life as a mother with depression. That’s why I think that Sinead O’Connor needs to be acknowledged the most this Mother’s Day. Despite her flaws, O’Connor has always given empathy to her children. She had time to show love and compassion to her children while still learning how to cope with life.

To Sinead O’Connor, and to all mothers out there, Happy Mother’s Day!

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