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a14 people & arts
Wednesday 9 august 2023

Mourners in Ireland pay their respects to singer Sinéad O'Connor

at funeral procession

Associated Press O'Connor, a multi-octave
LONDON (AP) — Throngs mezzo soprano of extraor-
of fans lined the streets of dinary emotional range
Sinéad O’Connor’s former who was recognizable by
hometown in Ireland to bid her shaved head, began
farewell to the gifted singer her career singing on the
as her funeral procession streets of Dublin and soon
passed by Tuesday follow- rose to international fame.
ing a private memorial ser- She became a sensa-
vice. tion in 1990 with her cover
A vintage VW camper van of Prince’s ballad “Noth-
with rooftop speakers blast- ing Compares 2 U,” which
ing Bob Marley's song “Nat- topped charts from Europe
ural Mystic” led a hearse to Australia.
at walking pace through She was a critic of the Ro-
a thick crowd of admir- man Catholic Church
ers along the waterfront well before allegations of
in Bray. O'Connor said she sexual abuse were wide-
loved Marley's music. ly reported. She made
Devotees of O'Connor's headlines in October 1992
singing and those touched when she tore up a photo
by her sometimes-troubled of Pope John Paul II while
life tossed roses and other appearing on NBC’s “Sat-
flowers on the hearse. Fans of Sinead O'Connor line the street as her funeral cortege passes through her former hometown urday Night Live” and de-
A group that had been of Bray, Co Wicklow, Ireland, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (Liam McBurney/PA via AP) nounced the church as the
waiting for well over an enemy.
hour outside O'Connor's of O'Connor's significance, loved her, I loved her.” ing of love for her from the She was public about her
former home, singing her saying she had “meant the O’Connor, 56, was found people of Wicklow (county) struggles with mental illness.
songs at times, began to world” to her. unresponsive at her London and beyond, since she left When her teenage son
clap as four police officers “She was so rebellious and home on July 26. Police ... to go to another place.” Shane died by suicide last
on motorcycles leading the empowering and inspir- have not shared a cause Fans tucked handwritten year, O’Connor tweeted
cortege approached and ing, and my mother hated of death, though they said notes and flowers behind there was “no point living
the procession came to a me listening to her music," her death was not suspi- a chain wrapped around without him” and she was
halt. They snapped pho- O'Shea said. "She was just cious. a granite post at the en- soon hospitalized. Her final
tos through the windows of brilliant. Brilliant — I loved O'Connor's family had in- trance to her former home, tweet, sent July 17, read
the hearse where her coffin her, and then the kids, I vited the public to pay their thanking her for sharing her “For all mothers of Suicided
was dwarfed by a pile of suppose by osmosis be- respects during the funeral voice and her music. One children,” and linked to a
blue hydrangeas and pink cause I played her when procession. sign listed causes that the Tibetan compassion man-
roses. they were both growing “Sinéad loved living in Bray singer had expressed sup- tra.
Ruth O’Shea, who had up, they’d go, ‘Oh God, and the people in it,” her port for, including welcom- Since her death, celebrities
come to the coastal town mom’s listening to Sinéad family said in a statement. ing refugees. have paid tribute to her,
of Bray south of Dublin with O’Connor, she’s obviously “With this procession, her “Thanks for your short and ordinary people have
her two daughters, be- had a rough day.’ She just family would like to ac- special life," one note shared acts of kindness she
came teary as she spoke gave me hope. And I just knowledge the outpour- read. “Gone too soon.” performed.q

Musk says his cage fight with

Zuckerberg will be streamed on X

of Facebook's parent com- he first challenged, but a tweet about Meta pre-
pany Meta posted about he hasn’t confirmed. Not paring to release a new
completing his first jiu jitsu holding my breath. I love Twitter rival called Threads.
tournament earlier this this sport and will continue He took a dig about the
year. competing with people world becoming “exclu-
“Zuck v Musk fight will be who train no matter what sively under Zuck’s thumb
live-streamed on X,” Musk happens here.” with no other options” —
wrote in a post Sunday on Whether or not Musk and but then one Twitter user
the platform. “All proceeds Zuckerberg actually make jokingly warned Musk of
will go to charity for veter- it to the ring in Las Vegas Zuckerberg’s jiu jitsu train-
ans.” has yet to be seen — espe- ing.
This combo of file images shows Facebook CEO Mark Musk said earlier Sunday he cially as Musk often tweets “I’m up for a cage match if
Zuckerberg, left, and Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. was training for the fight by about action prema- he is lol,” Musk wrote.
(AP Photo/Manu Fernandez, Stephan Savoia, File) lifting weights. turely or without following Representatives of X, Meta
NEW YORK (AP) — Elon Musk The two tech billionaires “Don’t have time to work through. But even if their and Ultimate Fighting
says his potential in-person seemingly agreed to a out, so I just bring them to cage match agreement is Championship, which owns
fight with Mark Zuckerberg “cage match” face-off in work,” Musk wrote. all a joke, the banter has the venue where the fight
would be streamed on his late June. Zuckerberg is Zuckerberg replied on gained attention. might take place, didn't
social media site X, formerly actually trained in mixed Threads: “I’m ready today. It all started when Musk, immediately respond to
known as Twitter. martial arts, and the CEO I suggested Aug 26 when who owns X, responded to emails seeking comment.q