That little bit of theater occurred on October 3, 1992. I remember it vividly though I assume it was in news casts, since I stopped watching SNL semi-regularly more than a decade before that. At the time I assumed she was a head case, correct, and a publicity hound, correct. The picture of the Pope belonged to her late mother with whom she had mommy issues. Now she is dead at 56, no details given by her family as to what caused her death. Her entire tortured life largely seemed to be her acting out, and dealing with her increasingly troubled mental health. She seemed always to be haunted by religion, having herself “ordained” by a small schismatic group and ending in Islam. I assume some people will claim she was ahead of her time in regard to the abuse scandal, or the mass apostasy of Ireland, but I think the demons which beset her were very personal in nature.
She was a musician of some talent, her bizarre behavior frequently overshadowing that fact. A true lost soul. May her final last moments have been a turning to God and may she have found in the next world the peace which eluded her in this world.
Impossible to imagine a more exquisite coupling of two musical angels like these two. And please don’t start. I’m Catholic and had my conflicts about her when she was alive, but let her troubled soul now rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/XOmEUW4ws9
— James Woods (@RealJamesWoods) July 27, 2023
I recall seeing this as a child on the news and feeling quite upset. It was the era of Madonna and her filth. Nonetheless, Joe Pesci followed up the following SNL episode by denouncing Sineads O’Connors tearing up of the beloved St JP2 in the shows opening monologue, by taping the photo back together. The audience on SNL applauded at Pesci’s act at rectifying the situation. I do wonder though if Sinead would get more applause than Pesci if this happened today?
To be clear- the talented late Prince wrote the song “Nothing Compares to you”. So credit goes to him for writing a haunting melody and lyrics. Although Sinead O’Connor did perform it well, and the music video is memorable in its simplicity, I don’t remember any of her other music and consider this song to have carried her career. She may have acted out to remain relevant and keep herself in the spotlight. If I had to pick a great Irish artist it would be Delores O’Riordan of The Cranberries:
https://youtu.be/Zz-DJr1Qs54
As for her issues- she has claimed to have been abused by her mother as a child and spent time in foster care. And it was a nun who introduced her to the guitar and music. She had 4 children of her own from broken relationships. One of her sons sadly took his own life not long ago. I feel sorry for her. You can’t reject God and expect to have any sense of peace in life. May her soul Rest in Peace.
That is a beautiful comment from Rob Schneider who is not someone I associate with serious commentary. Good for him.
Some commenters on another blog suggested that an appropriate person to have greeted her in the afterlife would have been St. John Paul II. If he could forgive the man who tried to kill him I’m sure he wouldn’t have held any grudge against O’Connor for merely having ripped up his picture.
The Almighty watches over fools and children. Would seem this is one less for Him for temporal concern. RIP
[…] Register America is on a Knife’s Edge – Matthew Archbold at Creative Minority Report Requiescat in Pace: Sinead O’Connor – Donald R. McClarey, J.D., at The American Catholic How to Force a New Ecclesiology on the […]
From what I’ve gathered, her problems with her mother were more than just “mommy issues”, that her mother was actually quite abusive.
If he could forgive the man who tried to kill him I’m sure he wouldn’t have held any grudge against O’Connor for merely having ripped up his picture.
That’s exactly what Pesci said in his opening monologue on the show in front if a LIVE audience.
https://youtu.be/kPykO9jdLk0
So her brother said. She also made similar accusations against her father and the brother denied those. Her Mom died when she was 45 and Sinead was 18 so she didn’t get to defend herself. If she was a fiend she was an odd one to keep a picture of the Pope.
People use faith to cover for abuse all the time. We have seen that in spades in recent years. So, a fiend keeping a picture of the Pope isn’t all that far fetched.
From what I’ve gathered, her problems with her mother were more than just “mommy issues”, that her mother was actually quite abusive.
I’ve asked this question before. Is there any verification of this apart from her own claims?
I realize people hurt during the course of their lives and I realize this woman just died and you hope for the best.
That having been said, looking over a summary of what she’s done and not done over the years, I’m willing to wager she’s been a source of exasperation and misery for those forced to work with and around her. That’s a type I recognize from experience. And, no, I don’t think you could attribute their problems in living to ‘abuse’.
She wasn’t a public person. She had no one to impress. Of course for all I know she was as mentally ill as her daughter.
Joseph O’Connor, an Irish novelist and Sinead’s brother seems like quite a stable person, has verified that their mother could be abusive and violent. He refutes similar accusations she made against their father, who he regards as a good father.
https://geniuscelebs.com/marie-john-oconnor-sinead-oconnor-parents-sibling/
I don’t see what bearing her mother not being a public figure and having no one to impress in the public arena has on this. Parents abusing children under the guise of faith within the home is far from unheard of.
What I find especially odd is O’ Connor doing this on SNL , a comedy show. You’d think she would have chosen a more serious venue to do something like that.
Parents abusing children under the guise of faith within the home is far from unheard of.
In my experience, and I have dealt with more troubled families professionally than perhaps is good for my soul, pretense usually ends behind closed doors. I think it also odd that O’Connor kept the picture for seven years after her mother’s death until she decided to destroy it on nation wide TV. The target was not the Pope but her mother.
I’m not denying it was odd that O’Connor did what she did nor is it defensible. I mean, what do you expect from a female pop singer with a shaved head?
It’s just that if she suffered real abuse at the hands of her mother, that’s more than just “mommy issues”.
It’s just that if she suffered real abuse at the hands of her mother, that’s more than just “mommy issues”.
No, it would be a progenitor of mommy issues, though you can have issues without mistreatment above and beyond banal parental shortcomings. (See Patty Reagan and HRH Prince Henry of Wales).
Nonetheless, Joe Pesci followed up the following SNL episode by denouncing Sinead O’Connor tearing up of the beloved St JP2 in the shows opening monologue, by taping the photo back together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPykO9jdLk0
“The Sinatra Group”:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SdIJimk-w8
A singer of considerably greater talent, in my view, Randy Meisner, founding Eagles bass player, died today. His lead vocal on the hit Take it Limit was a show stopper.
https://youtu.be/tJkW0Clsvrk
😂 @ Sinatra Group.
Greg- SNL has always been a Comedy show with a cast of troubled comedians- including a few who took their own life, had run-ins with the law, sordid relationships, substance abuse issues etc etc..SNL has been far from clean comedy. Although I do enjoy watching them send up politicians and entertainers.
Ezabelle, I am well aware of the troubled lives of many SNL cast members. I still find it odd that ‘Connor chose that venue to act out as she did. In one of the tweets Don screenshot in the body of this post, Rob Schneider noted the chilling effect it had on the audience.
Ok. Apologies for responding.
@ George Haberberger: Rob Schneider is an interesting guy, who has said that he grew up quite Catholic because of his mother (His father is Jewish) in a suburb of San Francisco (Pacifica), which at that time (speaking as an ex-San Franciscan from that era) in the 70s-80’s was still a fairly Catholic city. He has prominently expressed his political views on what is wrong with California, and switched from being a Democrat to Republican some years ago. He is quite low-key about his beliefs.
Most definitely agree that his comments about Sinead O’Connor were quite kind and compassionate.
She had issues with her mother, became a star because she looked pretty in a video covering a Prince song. Acted out against her mother, was variously Roman Catholic, then a “priest” in an Orthodox Catholic sect, a Rastafarian (the “murder da Pope” sect), then smugly announced that all spiritual Seekers must arrive at Islam.
She denied Christ Jesus, and took up the mullahs’ medieval rag (as Oriana Failaci called it) while young women in Iran were being tortured and killed fir eschewing it.
I wonder how if the imam officiating her funeral in Ireland spoke about her enthusiasm for the “difficult brown”, as she was laid to rest amongst the white people who disgusted her.
“I never wanna spend time with white people again (if that’s what non-muslims are called). Not for one moment, for any reason. They are disgusting.”
Now her mortal remains will repose in one of the whitest places on Earth
Mental health isn’t a big enough priority in our cultures, and in our faiths, but it doesn’t excuse everything .
I’m sure JP II would forgive the columns-he suffered worse- but the rewriting of history to refrained this brat’s tantrum as heroic is risible.
God forgive m6 speaking ill of the deceased apostate and denier of Christ.