On Wednesday, the tragic news of Irish singer Sinéad O'Connor's passing at the age of 56 shook the world.
Immediately, media outlets including Marie Claire began sharing their tributes to the impactful and beloved artist, and both her family and the celebrities she touched throughout her short life shared beautiful words about what she meant to them.
Among them was the Kiwi-Australian actor Russell Crowe, who recalled a chance encounter with O'Connor while he was in Dalkey, near the Irish capital of Dublin.
"Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us. Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman," Crowe began.
"Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waived [sic] me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness ' oh, it’s you Russell.'
"She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea. In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer. I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine."
Crowe left his followers with the following moving words, "When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights.
"We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman.
"Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad."
Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us. Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped upJuly 26, 2023
Crowe was far from the only one to have lovely memories of O'Connor.
The rapper Flavor Flav wrote on Twitter, "On behalf of my group Public Enemy and myself Flavor Flav,,, The passing of Sinead O’Conner breaks my heart. She was very supportive of Public Enemy,,, and she was a legend that’s gone too soon. My condolences to her son and family. - Flavor Flav"
On behalf of my group Public Enemy and myself Flavor Flav,,, The passing of Sinead O’Conner breaks my heart. She was very supportive of Public Enemy,,, and she was a legend that’s gone too soon. My condolences to her son and family. - Flavor FlavJuly 26, 2023
The photographer Misan Harriman—a good friend of Meghan Markle's—dedicated several Instagram posts to O'Connor. In one, he wrote, "Such a huge loss, a singular and vulnerable voice."
Stars including Sam Smith and Dan Levy shared photos of O'Connor on their Instagram Stories, while Jamie Lee Curtis recalled one of her own stories of experiencing the singer's talent and presence in the flesh.
"I once heard Sìnead [sic] sing acappella in an empty chapel in Ireland. It was under construction at the private home of our host," Curtis wrote. "It was one of the most beautiful things I've ever heard in my life. We then went together to see Eminem at a festival.
"I loved her. Her music. Her life. She was a victim of child abuse and a huge change agent for unfair and unjust draconian laws that she helped change in Ireland.
"She was a warrior. She was a rebel. She ripped up a photograph that was on her mother's wall because of the hypocrisy of the abusive life she was raised in under the banner of the church.
"This is so sad. Watch the NOTHING COMPARES documentary. Brilliant. Heartbreaking.
"Rest well. Rest in power. Rest in peace."
