Hothouse Flowers star pictured paying respects outside Sinead OConnors home

Liam O Maonlai, a musician with Irish band The Hothouse Flowers, said Sinead O’Connor was “up against it from the get-go”. peaking ahead of the funeral procession in Bray, he said he hoped she smiled in her last moments. He said: “The career-minded (musicians) who stay within a parameter of what they’re told to do. They find a formula and they stick to it. She didn’t do that.”

He said he last spoke to Sinead at a birthday party either last year or the year before. Asked why so many people had gathered at her home, Liam said “everyone has their own reasons”.

He said: “I think it’s love is why people are outside the house today. They loved her. I admired her.”

Hand-written notes addressed to the Nothing Compares 2 U singer have been left outside her former home in Bray, Co Wicklow, thanking her for sharing her voice and her music.

Follow the latest updates from Sinead O’Connor’s funeral today HERE.

Her funeral cortege will pass along the seafront in Bray, Co Wicklow, today.

Media gathered opposite her home, Montebello, as people continued to leave flowers, notes, and stones with messages written on them.

A neighbour was seen putting candles on the wall that separated the two properties on Tuesday morning.

A pink chair has been placed outside the pink-framed conservatory of the house, located on the seafront, with pink flowers and a photo of the singer placed at the base of the chair.

One sign left at the wall of the property listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees: “Where words fail, music speaks.”

A talented local musician has fondly recalled a remarkable experience of singing alongside the legendary Sinead O’Connor in her hometown of Bray.

Tom Dalton, who organised acoustic singing sessions with his band Celtic Grace in a local pub, described Sinead as a “big icon” in the area and praised her “heart of gold.”

Speaking on BBC Breakfast, Tom shared his surprise when he discovered he had the privilege of performing with the acclaimed star back in 2019, initially unaware of her identity.

Recounting the encounter, he said: “We set it up there every Wednesday night, we had a poster up just down the road…I was there Wednesday evening in 2019.

Sinead, who was not performing at the time and preferred to keep a low profile, walked into the pub with her distinctive Quake guitar.

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Tom admitted he didn’t recognise her immediately. He said: “She walked in and she said ‘What are you doing?’ I said we do the round-robin and we just sing, and she sang the most beautiful song and played the guitar. I’d never heard her play the guitar and many people probably haven’t.”

As the evening progressed, Tom and his fellow musicians engaged in their customary round-robin singing session. When it was Sinead’s turn again, she joined in with a rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Tom said: “We went back around again and one of the girls started singing Amazing Grace, she joined in and played and sang, I joined in with her, she sang the second verse, and I sang the last verse. It was absolutely fabulous.”

Tom said he received praise for staying calm during the performance but confessed he hadn’t recognised the Nothing Compares 2 U singer when she first entered the pub. However, as soon as he heard her unmistakable voice, he knew exactly who she was.

Tom said: “She just stood up after about an hour and she went and we didn’t hassle her, we didn’t ask her for a photograph, there was nothing. It was just a complete and beautiful night.”

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