Sinéad O’Connor reportedly told her children to “milk” her music “for what it’s worth” in her will. According to records obtained by The Sun, O’Connor also left her family £1.4million, with her ex-husband, music producer John Reynolds, chosen as the executor of the estate.

O’Connor passed away age 56, on July 26, 2023, when she was found unresponsive in her home by police. The cause of death was later revealed to be asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

In 2013, in a document signed before her conversion to Islam, the Irish singer-songwriter made her wishes clear regarding her unreleased recordings, hoping that her family could get money for all its worth.

The document reportedly reads: “I direct that after my death, and at the discretion of any of my children who are then over 18, my albums are to be released so as to ‘milk it for what it’s worth.’”

It also requested that she be buried in priest clothing, with a copy of the Hebrew Bible and her 2007 album ‘Theology’. Representatives for O’Connor’s family have not yet commented on The Sun‘s report.

Sinead left the sum of £1.7million to her children. Irish probate records state that the estate was reduced to £1.4million after covering Sinead’s debts, funeral costs and legal fees.

Before the outspoken singer died in 2023, her son tragically took his own life the year before. The body of Shane O’Connor, 17, was found in a secluded area at the back of a housing estate outside of Bray, Co Wicklow on January 7, 2022. He was dealing with mental health struggles at the time and was placed on suicide watch.

The grief led to Sinéad admitting herself to hospital to receive help for her own mental health struggles. Her ex-partner has claimed that the singer “died from a broken heart” after her son passed away.

After her death, she was laid to rest in a ceremony in Bray in August 2023. Bob Geldof and U2 stars Bono and The Edge attended her funeral alongside her friends and family. Thousands of mourners lined the streets, paying their respects. Upon her passing, many tributes came in from stars like Garbage, Michael Stipe, Ice-T and Billy Corgan.

Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.. https://t.co/3nbO3w22zv

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 26, 2023

In March last year, Sinéad’s daughter gave an emotional rendition of her mother’s most famous song, “Nothing Compares 2 U”. The performance took place at Carnegie Hall in New York, at a tribute concert for O’Connor and The Pogues Shane MacGowan.

The song, originally written and released by Prince, was recorded for her second album, ‘I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got’. The moving arrangement and simple but powerful music video took the world by storm, topping the charts in many countries and becoming the third best-selling single of 1990. Considered by many publications to be one of the best songs of all time, the classic track and her other releases keep O’Connor’s legacy alive.

Following Sinead O’Connor’s tragic passing in July 2023, Cyrus has reflected on the feud she had with the Irish singer-songwriter following the release of the “Wrecking Ball” music video a decade ago. Cyrus gained notoriety for the video in which she was shown swinging on a wrecking ball, naked. As of 2023, the video has over 1 billion views and marked a clear departure from Cyrus’s Disney Channel beginnings.

O’Connor penned a scathing open letter to Cyrus in 2013, despite writing “it is said in the spirit of motherliness and with love.”

O’Connor said, “I am extremely concerned for you that those around you have led you to believe, or encouraged you in your own belief, that it is in any way ‘cool’ to be naked and licking sledgehammers in your videos. It is in fact the case that you will obscure your talent by allowing yourself to be pimped, whether its the music business or yourself doing the pimping.”

She continued, “Nothing but harm will come in the long run, from allowing yourself to be exploited, and it is absolutely NOT in ANY way an empowerment of yourself or any other young women, for you to send across the message that you are to be valued (even by you) more for your sexual appeal than your obvious talent.”

In her ABC documentary appearance, Cyrus has addressed how she felt at the time, saying, “At the time when I made ‘Wrecking Ball’, I was expecting for there to be controversy and backlash, but I don’t think I expected other women to put me down or turn on me, especially women that had been in my position before.”

Cyrus had shared in 2013 that O’Connor’s music video for her 1990 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U” had inspired her, and responded to the open letter by mocking O’Connor’s mental health issues following the backlash.

Cyrus has now shared, “I had no idea about the fragile mental state that she was in.”

She continued, “I was also only 20 years old. So I could really only wrap my head around mental illness so much and all that I saw was that another woman had told me that this idea was not my idea. Even if I was convinced that it was, it was still just men in power’s idea of me and they had manipulated me to believe that it was my own idea when it never really was. And it was. And it is. And I still love it.”

Cyrus concluded that she was making “my own choices and my own decisions. To have that taken away from me deeply upset me.”

Cyrus ended her reflection on the feud by saying, “God bless Sinéad O’Connor for real, in all seriousness” before performing her track “Wonder Woman” with “Dedicated to Sinead O’Connor” written across the screen.

O’Connor’s music was streamed 243,000 times from July 24-25, before that number rose to 7.3 million from July 26-27 following the sad news of her death at age 56. Her famous cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U” racked up 3.2 million streams alone during the week and amassed an additional 10,000 downloads. UK statistics are yet to be released.

Listen to “Nothing Compares 2 U” below:

The Irish musician and activist was found unresponsive at her London home on July 26th and shortly thereafter pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities have yet to disclose an official cause, but have ruled out any possibility of foul play.  

O’Connor, whose death comes 18 months after her 17-year-old son took his own life, had been publicly vocal about her mental health struggles and was hospitalised on her own volition in early 2022 after revealing suicidal thoughts in a string of since-deleted tweets.

Following the tragic news of the singer’s passing, tributes flooded in from all over the world, with many prominent music industry figures sharing touching messages on social media. Bryan Adams wrote: “RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family.”

RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family. pic.twitter.com/49ryuIhGTQ

— Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) July 26, 2023

Ian Brown also reminisced about his shared experiences with the singer, a woman he deemed a “beautiful soul”.

RiP SiNEAD O’CONNOR A Beautiful Soul. Hearin Collaborating with and hearing Sinead sing my songs in the studio in Dublin was magical and a highlight of my musical life. A Beautiful soul LOVE TO HER FAMILY X

— Ian Brown (@ianbrown) July 26, 2023

Morrissey and Lily Allen, however, criticised their peers, condemning the empty platitudes offered up by personalities who hadn’t supported O’Connor while she was alive. 

It’s hard not to feel incensed when there are so many people posting about Sinead and how fearless she was, people who would never in a million years align themselves with with anybody who stood for something or had anything remotely controversial to say. It’s so spineless. If…

— Lily Allen (@lilyallen) July 30, 2023

Allen recently took to Twitter to express her dismay at the “spineless” tributes posted by people who only empathised with the Irish singer in death, while the former Smiths frontman released a lengthy message on his website:

“[…] The cruel playpen of fame gushes with praise for Sinéad today…with the usual moronic labels of ‘icon’ and ‘legend’. You praise her now only because it is too late. You hadn’t the guts to support her when she was alive and she was looking for you. […] Music CEOs who had put on their most charming smile as they refused her for their roster are queuing-up to call her a ‘feminist icon’, and 15 minute celebrities and goblins from hell and record labels of artificially aroused diversity are squeezing onto Twitter to twitter their jibber-jabber. […]”

Never one to shy away from controversy, O’Connor was known for her outspoken nature and strong beliefs, consistently bringing attention to issues such as child abuse and women’s rights. In 1992, she famously tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live, in protest of child sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Although the stunt attracted much criticism, O’Connor remained undeterred in her activism – in her 2021 memoir she declared that it was more important for her to be a protest singer than a successful pop star.

Irish singer Sinéad O’Connor – whose hit Nothing Compares 2 U propelled her to worldwide fame – dies aged 56https://t.co/Y5fylNGpq4

— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) July 26, 2023

O’Connor, perhaps best known for her cover of Prince’s “Nothing Compares 2 U,” struggled with the loss of her son, who died while on suicide watch at Tallaght Hospital. O’Connor was publicly vocal about the mental health struggles that she suffered due to the loss of custody of her son and in her last tweet, expressed how lost she felt without him.

In a statement given to the media, her family said, “it is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinead. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.” O’Connor is survived by her three children. O’Connor’s fellow artists took to social media to share their condolences and pay tribute to the singer.

pic.twitter.com/6iscpvpjzJ — Massive Attack (@MassiveAttackUK) July 26, 2023

Heavy hearted at the loss of Sinead O’Connor. Wanted to reach out to her often but didn’t.I remember her launch. Astounding presence.Voice that cracked stone with force & by increment. As beautiful as any girl around & never traded on that card. I Loved that about her. Iconoclast

— Alison Moyet (@AlisonMoyet) July 26, 2023

RIP Sinéad O’Connor, I loved working with you making photos, doing gigs in Ireland together and chats, all my love to your family. pic.twitter.com/49ryuIhGTQ — Bryan Adams (@bryanadams) July 26, 2023

Respect to Sinead….. She stood for something… Unlike most people…. Rest Easy.. https://t.co/3nbO3w22zv

— ICE T (@FINALLEVEL) July 26, 2023

RiP SiNEAD O’CONNOR A Beautiful Soul. Hearin Collaborating with and hearing Sinead sing my songs in the studio in Dublin was magical and a highlight of my musical life. A Beautiful soul LOVE TO HER FAMILY X — Ian Brown (@ianbrown) July 26, 2023

I am gutted by the loss of #SineadOConnor .

She was the warrior poet I expected her to be — wise and visionary, but also hilarious. She and I laughed a lot. We were writing new songs together, which will now never be complete.

We’ve all lost an icon. I’ve lost a friend. #RIP

— Bear McCreary (@bearmccreary) July 26, 2023

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. — Russell Crowe (@russellcrowe) July 26, 2023

You were so loved by so many #SineadOConnor

This video was taken just 4 months ago at the @choiceprize awards in Dublin and the atmosphere in the room when Sinéad took to the stage was just electric

I’m sorry the world was so cruel to you.
Rest in Power Irish Princess pic.twitter.com/TfnKMl9Q2f

— Siobhán McAndrew (@Shiv_Mc_A) July 26, 2023

Born in Dublin, Ireland, O’Connor released her debut album The Lion And The Cobra in 1987 to popular acclaim but it was her follow up, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got that made her a household name- propelling her into superstardom. The album contained her version of “Nothing Compares 2 U.” The song, written by Prince, was the second single to feature from the album and became a worldwide smash hit.

The album also highlighted O’Connor ‘s ability as a singer, garnering praise for her vocal approach and style. Many publications and commentators also noted her rebellious appearance of shaved head, serious expression and loose fitting clothes. Throughout the late 90s and 2000s, O’Connor continued to release music and contribute as a guest artist on various records although O’Connor’s appeal waned somewhat, despite releasing new albums- much of which also won critical praise.

Known for her brazen and unreserved honesty about her spirituality, activism and mental health struggles-the singer never shied away from controversy, famously tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on the TV show Saturday Night Live. A member of Sinn Fein, O’Connor was a supporter of a united Ireland.

By 2014, O’Connor had released ten studio albums and was reportedly working on a new record, No Veteran Dies Alone. In 2021, O’Connor released a memoir called Rememberings to high critical acclaim with the BBC naming it one of the best books of the year.

In 2017, O’Connor officially changed her name to Magda Davitt, citing her wish to break with patriarchal traditions. She also went on to convert to Islam one year later, changing her name a second time to Shuhada Sadaqat and stating that it was a natural progression for an intelligent theologian.