Mourners and fans turned out in the Irish town once home to singer Sinead O’Connor to pay their last respects at a poignant funeral procession ahead of her burial.
Hundreds lined the route of the cortege on Tuesday as it passed along the seafront in Bray, 20kms south of Dublin, where she lived for 15 years.
Many spontaneously clapped and threw flowers on the front of the hearse carrying her coffin, which followed behind a Volkswagen camper van playing her music.
“She was so rebellious and empowering and inspiring, and my mother hated me listening to her music,” said Ruth O’Shea, one of those who had gathered, with her two daughters.
“She just gave me hope. And I just loved her,” she told Ireland’s RTE broadcaster.
The Grammy award-winning singer, best known for her 1990 cover of Nothing Compares 2 U, died last month after being found unresponsive at her London home. She was 56.
The musician, who rose to international fame in the nineties, was also mourned at a funeral just prior to the procession, attended by family, friends and dignitaries, before a private burial later.
Irish President Michael Higgins was among those attending the service, while activist and pop star Bob Geldof was part of the cortege.
“The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinead O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people,” Higgins said in a statement.
An imam led a Muslim funeral prayer, describing it as “an honour” to be part of the occasion “for the daughter of Ireland”.
O’Connor had converted to Islam, changing her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat in 2018.