• Sinéad O'Connor dies at 56 Dramatic life and voice

Fans, friends, musicians and neighbors of Sinéad O'Connor, who died last month in London at age 56, sang, danced and cried to the sound of her songs, amplified from a rickety and colorful van that guided her funeral procession along the promenade of Bray, the village near Dublin where the singer lived for 15 years. Afterwards, the motorcade continued on its way to attend a private funeral, according to O'Connor's family, who said in a statement that the singer "loved living in Bray and its people."

Before the funeral procession, O'Connor's relatives attended a private funeral service of Muslim rite, which was also attended by the President of the Republic of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, and Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. The service included prayers from Imam Shaykh Umar Al-Qadri, as the singer converted to Islam in 2018 and changed her name to Shuhada Sadaqat.

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In addition to floral offerings and photographs, the neighbors of Bray remembered today with banners the vindictive character of the artist, recognized worldwide for her music, but also for the causes she defended, such as the rights of women, minors and the LGTBI community, among others. "The more he sang and spoke of his own pain, as well as the pervasive sins of society that he witnessed, the more his voice and words resonated with his audience, which he touched to the heart," Al-Qadri said in his prayer.

The imam stressed that "all the faithful of the world" will now remember the "beloved daughter of Ireland". And among them, he added, "the many Muslims who will pray for their sister of faith and humanity." The most emotional moment of Sinéad's coffin took place in front of her house in Montebello, in the middle of the promenade of Bray, converted into a "hall of fame" and altar for the Irish.

"It meant a lot to me when I was young, his music, his first album, my first concert. I admired her so much because she used her voice to defend refugees, the LGBTI community and to denounce racism," said Veronica, a woman of the same age as the artist and who traveled at dawn from the west of Ireland to say goodbye. He wanted to pay his respects, "pray for her" and "feel her spirit" on a day when "she has brought us the sun" after several weeks of incessant rain: "Thank you Sinéad," Veronica added.

In addition to her contemporaries, O'Connor's death has served to remind younger people that the singer was ahead of her time, a voice against the abuse committed against minors by Catholic priests and against the omnipresent power of the Church in Irish society on issues such as abortion or gay marriage. "That is a way of being, a difficult way forward," Sarah, 41, observes of the almost "prophetic" character of Sinéad, whose criticism of the established power earned her some unpopularity among the most conservative sectors.

"She representedfeminine power, women's power, the truth about what wasn't right, about things that were inappropriate. She spoke on behalf of the voiceless and was persecuted for it. He taught me to have courage," celebrated this Dubliner.

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