#rip sinead o’connor

[trevorme]

RIP, Sinéad O'Connor — Priest, Prophet, Sagittarian Truth Warrior.

[talesfrommedinastation]

Sinead O'Connor and Clones

In case you haven't heard, Sinead O'Connor passed away yesterday, at the age of 56. I literally stopped my car when I heard the news. I have loved O'Connor's music for many years, and have been heartbroken to hear about her battles with mental illness and other tragedies that have filled her life. May she rest in peace.

There's plenty of punk singing, pop music from her, but where she truly shone was traditional Irish singing, especially sean-nos, where her voice is both ethereal and full of unyielding pain.

Where do clones from Star Wars fit in here, you ask?

When O'Connor delved into sean-nos, it was not romantic Rather, it followed the pain of many who left or were taken form their homes to serve in war, and have tried to find their ways home or remember what they could beforehand.

While writing about the clones (and the Belters) in Far Past the Ring, I listen to that album a lot.

This is one of my favorites, The Moorlough Shore, and the lyrics remind me so much of many of the clones in Star Wars. One could argue that it seems like it was written by someone who loved a member of the GAR, who left or died in battle:

"And he was my only joy And ever since I saw his face I have loved that soldier boy"

The whole album is full of whispers and cries, with many of them having ties to the history of soldiers, colonialism, and missing loved ones. O'Connor was a fierce critic of authority, and for her fans, we loved that Celtic Valkyrie for that.

I do not know if O'Connor ever watched TCW or TBB, but I would have loved to hear her opinion on the shows. Of orphaned men of color who were aged too early, thrown into battle, their rights taken away, and their memories and lives forgotten by the universe that they served.

So many have opined about the last scene of TCW, and about Vader/Ashoka, but to me, the heart of the show is this helmet, and this shot. The clones were humans that were stripped down into tools and subsequently treated the same way.

And as I listen to O'Connor's music in her memory, I wish she would have made a sean-nos song about this scene, about these fictional people, these soldiers who were not meant to be human, but who lived, loved, and died for others.

RIP, Sinead. Your voice continues.

[seethesound]

Sinead O’Connor speaking truth about the Catholic Church hiding the sexual abuse of children by their members. She was proven right but she paid a huge price for her honesty and bravery. She was a warrior who will be missed.

[lyfestile]

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[duranduratulsa]

90's Fest In Memoriam...

Sinéad O'Connor 1966-2023

#sineadoconnor #ripsineadoconnor #durandurantulsas3rdannual90sfest #90s #90sfest

[ourquietman]

“Her name has become synonymous with courage and integrity,” Kristofferson said that night, but O’Connor never had another hit record in the US. Time proved her right about the church’s complicity in the abuse of children – in the early 1990s, however, she was perceived by many simply as an eccentric with an axe to grind. 

Caroline Sullivan eulogizing Sinead O’Connor for THE GUARDIAN

[glowingsaints]

Sinead O’Connor & The Chieftans - The Foggy Dew, 1995

[hurtc0pain]

Nothing compares to you.

Nothing can take away these blues.

All the flowers that you planted mama

In the back yard

All died when you went away

I know that living with you baby was sometimes hard

But I'm willing to give it another try

[fionaapplerocks]

Sinead O’Connor is dead at 56.

A stunning Irish musician, and someone who truly spoke truth to power.

[seethesound]

A singular voice. She changed the game more than people know. Rest easy beautiful queen❤️

[parttimereporter]

Sinead O’Connor is dead at the age of 56. A legend gone.

[duranduratulsa]

Sinéad O'Connor - Nothing Compares 2 U (Official Music Video) [HD]

90's Fest Song 🎵 of the day 2: Nothing Compares 2 U by Sinéad O'Connor (1990) from I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got #sineadoconnor #ripsineadoconnor #prince #ripprince #nothingcompares2u #IDoNotWantWhatIHaventGot #90s #90sfest #durandurantulsas3rdannual90sfest

[blamebrampton]

I hope Sinéad O’Connor found peace at the end. There will be a lot of discourse in the obituaries and for kids wondering what all the fuss was about when she ripped up a picture of the Pope on US TV: no one at that point was talking about institutional child sexual abuse within the Church.

There were a lot of people who knew it was happening and in Ireland there had been notable trials for clergy who had abused multiple children, all while the perpetrators were protected. At the same time, there were frantic cover-ups by the Church and a veil of silence enforced by many in the media so that even when a priest would very occasionally come to trial, they were presented as a poor sinner who had fallen, not part of an organised abuse system that had assumed there would be no consequences.

Sinead was the first public figure to stand up and point to that endemic abuse and label it evil. She felt the weight of the establishment’s power as it reacted to this truth and tried to silence her, but she also saw others empowered by her courage and that story start to emerge, first in Ireland, then around the world. The Church and its protectors in the media still downplay the extent and evil of its abuse (as do so many Protestant churches, particularly in the US, as well as other institutions who followed that model), but it can never again pretend that it doesn’t exist.

So I hope people remember her beautiful voice while singing, and her brave, brilliant voice while living.