We were writing up a review of Allyson McCabe’s excellent book Why Sinead O’Connor Matters when we learned of her passing. Words fail us at the news; hers was an enormous talent and her passing is a great tragedy. It made us think of many things we love about her–her voice, her songwriting, her inimitable spirit. Thus, in looking at what we’d written for the review, we think it says exactly what we think it should say. McCabe’s book is a fitting overview of O’Connor’s life, and is a superb, in-depth read for those wanting to understand the singer.

“I wanna make/something beautiful/for you and from you/to show you/I adore you” — “Something Beautiful”

O’Connor bravely took on the entertainment industry, challenging the sexism and inherent racism that it promoted throughout the late 80s. At the time, such a stance meant that there would be professional blowback, and it most certainly took place in the form of painting O’Connor in an unflattering light. Things cumulated in the worst way in 1992, when she ripped up a photograph of the Pope on Saturday Night Live, an action that, for better or worse, halted her superstar trajectory and made her a laughing stock and lightning rod for both press coverage and superficial music listeners alike. 

It isn’t necessary—or fair—to continue to talk about the things O’Connor has done in the past; those incidents should remain there. Sadly, for Sinead the antics soon took precedence over the music she made. She continued to release superb studio albums, such as 1994s Universal Mother and 2000s Faith And Courage, but her actions both past and present dominated the story and the image of O’Connor grew to be one of perennial crank and kook. Listeners might not know there was a new Sinead O’Connor album, but they certainly knew of her Saturday Night Live appearance, even though that incident had happened years ago. 

And that’s a real shame. 

Purchase Why Sinead O’Connor Matters: https://utpress.utexas.edu/9781477325704/