Sinead O’Connor

Biography
O’Connor was born on Dec 8, 1966, in Dublin. Her parents divorced when O’Connor was just a young girl and her mother was frequently abusive. She was just 14-years-old when she was sent to the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity laundry, in Dublin, after she was labeled a “problem child” and having been caught shoplifting. This particular Magdalene Laundry only shut its doors in 1996.
Her music career began when she was “discovered” by the drummer of the popular Irish band In Tua Nua and co-wrote their hit song “Take My Hand.” O’Connor also sang and played guitar on the street and in pubs and worked for a singing telegram service.
Her first album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987. To date, she had had ten solo albums, won a Grammy for her I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, in 1990. She has also been nominated for seven other Grammys and one Golden Globe awards.
Over the years O’Connor has been in the press, aside from her music, due to her public statements and gestures, such as her ripping up of the Pope’s photo on live TV. She has also been ordained as a priest, despite being a woman with a Roman Catholic background, and strongly expressed views on organized religion, women’s rights, war, and child abuse.