Roads closed so fans can pay respects at Sinead O’Connor’s funeral

Roads will be closed near the former home of Sinead O’Connor so fans can gather to pay their respects as the late Irish singer’s funeral cortege passes.

People have been meeting outside her old house in Bray, Co Wicklow, to lay notes and flowers.

They will then line the coastal road to bid her farewell when the procession leaves the private service.

A statement from the Gardai said: “In keeping with her family’s wishes, following a private service, members of the public will be able to pay their respects and are asked to gather at the Strand Road/Promenade area between 11.30am and 12.30pm.

“It is expected the funeral procession will stop briefly in this area at some stage between these times.

“As there is limited parking on the seafront, An Garda Siochana are advising people to use public transport if possible as the Dart can bring people right to the location.

“It is expected road closures will be in place from 11.30am to 12.30pm in the Strand Road/Promenade area and all other traffic will be diverted on to the Adelaide Road.

“Gardai will be in attendance and, if needed, further rolling road closures may be put in place.”

Train services into Bray in Co Wicklow are “significantly busier than normal”, a spokesman for Irish Rail said in a statement to the PA news agency on Tuesday.

He added: “Our station manager advises me the last three trains arriving in particular have been quite busy, and that’s expected to continue over the next hour.”

Handwritten notes outside O’Connor’s former home thanked her for sharing her voice and her music.

One note said: “You are forever in my heart.”

A pink chair was placed outside the pink-framed conservatory of the house, with pink flowers, candles and a photo of the singer placed at the base of the chair.

A heart-shaped floral bouquet featured a picture of the star and two Irish flags.

One sign left at the wall of the property listed causes that the singer had expressed support for, including welcoming refugees.

It read: “Where words fail, music speaks.”

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

Decorated with flowers and Pride flags, a Volkswagen camper van arrived playing some of O’Connor’s songs from speakers mounted on the roof for the gathered crowds.

O’Connor’s family have asked people who wish to say a “last goodbye” to stand along Bray seafront as the cortege passes by.

The procession is expected to start at the Harbour Bar end of the Strand Road and will continue past her former home, Montebello, where she lived for 15 years.

Since O’Connor’s death on July 26, people have been leaving flowers and paying their respects at the house, which the singer sold in 2021 and now lies empty.

“Sinead loved living in Bray and the people in it,” a statement issued by her family said.

“With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her from the people of Co Wicklow and beyond, since she left last week to go to another place.”

The Grammy-winning singer was found unresponsive by police at her south-east London home at the age of 56.

A host of tributes have flooded in from fans and famous artists across the world in response to her death, including Russell Crowe, Annie Lennox, Cyndi Lauper and Bob Geldof.

A councillor for Bray East said fans are “grateful” to the family for allowing them the opportunity to “say goodbye” to the singer.

Erika Doyle told BBC Breakfast: “I was a lifelong fan of Sinead. We met quite by chance when she moved to Bray… Sinead, although she was attached to Bray and very Irish, she was a global superstar, that is easy for us to forget here in Bray – she touched lives across the world.”

She added: “Sinead’s legacy is still being written and I think it will for some time… We are very grateful to Sinead’s family for allowing the opportunity to say goodbye.

“People are taking the opportunity to connect with her in some way.”

Several gatherings were held in the days after O’Connor’s death, in Dublin, Belfast and London, where members of the public paid tribute to her legacy as a musician and activist.

O’Connor, who was born in Dublin in December 1966, released her first album, The Lion And The Cobra, in 1987.

Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got, followed in 1990 and contained the hit single Nothing Compares 2 U, which saw O’Connor top the charts around the world.

The track earned her multiple Grammy Award nominations, including in the prestigious record of the year category, as well as best female pop vocal performance and best music video.

In 1991, she was named artist of the year by Rolling Stone magazine and took home the Brit Award for international female solo artist.

She released a further eight studio albums, the latest being 2014’s I’m Not Bossy, I’m The Boss.

In 2018, O’Connor announced that she had converted to Islam and changed her name to Shuhada’ Sadaqat.

Following her death, her music management company, 67 Management, said she had been finishing a new album, reviewing tour dates for next year, and was also considering “opportunities” around a film of her book.

O’Connor’s death is not being treated as suspicious.

A London coroner did not find a medical cause of death and suggested that post-mortem examination results may take several weeks.