Sinéad O’Connor – who died this week at the age of 56 – gave her kids very specific instructions on what to do in the wake of her death, and had told them about it since they were small.
The Irish singer is survived by her beloved three children, Jake Reynolds, 34, Roisin Waters, 27, and sixteen-year-old Yeshua Bonadio. Her second son, Shane Lunny, died by suicide aged 17 last year.
Just two years ago, O’Connor had spoken candidly about discussing her mortality with her kids ever since they were ‘small’.
In an interview with People magazine, she explained that her priority in death was to protect her finances and body of work – so much so, that she wished for her accountant to be called before emergency services.
‘See, when the artists are dead, they’re much more valuable than when they’re alive,’ she told People in 2021, before making reference to rapper Tupac’s album sales increasing following his death.
‘It’s kind of gross what record companies do.’
In light of this, Sinead asked for her accountant to be the first person her children called in the event of her sudden passing.
The Nothing Compares 2 U singer revealed that she had ‘always instructed’ her kids that if she ‘drops dead tomorrow’ they were to ring her accountant before contacting 911.
Sinead explained she wanted them to ‘make sure the record companies don’t start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is.’
Sinead’s death was confirmed in a statement by her family on Wednesday, after the iconic musician was found ‘unresponsive’ in a residential address in London.
The Drink Before The War singer had reportedly moved into a penthouse flat in the Lambeth area of the city just a few weeks ago, having previously been based in Bray, South County Dublin.
In her last ever video posted to Twitter, Sinead said that she was ‘home’ now that she was in London before giving viewers a brief tour of her modern apartment.
She also showed off her Martin Johnny Cash electro acoustic guitar, which she planned to write some ‘tunes’ on, as well as a vase of yellow flowers gifted to her by a friend.
At another point, she apologized for the mess in the £3,000 a month rental and revealed that she was wearing Vaseline on her face.
She also briefly commented on the death of her son, Shane, telling fans, ‘Unfortunately, your kid passing away, it isn’t good for one’s body or mind.’
