Floral tributes left for Sinead O’Connor, a woman ‘for the women of Ireland’

Sinead O’Connor has been described as a woman “for the women of Ireland” by those leaving flowers outside her former home.

Tributes including cards, flowers, notes and a wreath have been left at the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter’s house in Bray, Co Wicklow.

O’Connor died on July 26, aged 56, after she was found unresponsive by police at a home in south London.

Her funeral procession will pass through Bray on Tuesday morning.

Karen Kehoe put together a wreath for the memorial outside O’Connor’s former home on behalf of victims of abuse in Ireland.

The Nothing Compares 2 U singer was open about the frequent physical abuse she was subjected to by her mother, as well as time she spent in a Magdalene laundry, an institution established by the Catholic Church in Ireland to house “fallen women”.

Ms Kehoe said parts of the wreath were symbolic of O’Connor’s life and impact.

“So the heart represents the love that we all have for Sinead and the pink roses represent Sinead’s love for the Magdalene laundries, how she tried to get it out there, how she tried to warn us all of everything that was happening,” she said.

“Sinead was certainly a woman ahead of her time.

“And then the crown of thorns just represents how the church crucified her. And we have her picture underneath and nobody listened to her.

“She was well ahead of her time, she was right about everything. So the least we owe her now is a little bit of gratitude and a little bit of love.”

O’Connor sparked controversy when she ripped up a picture of Pope John Paul II on the US comedy show Saturday Night Live in 1992, in protest of abuse in the Catholic church.

The performance sparked vitriolic backlash against the then 26-year-old O’Connor.

Years later, Pope John Paul II would apologise for and publicly recognise that abuse had been happening in Catholic institutions.

Ms Kehoe echoed the many tributes to the Dublin-born singer and activist when she said that O’Connor never gave in to pressure to change herself.

“She represented someone who just wouldn’t drop to the aspirations of everybody else, like all the record companies wanting her to wear dresses, have her hair long – she never folded. She stood strong to herself,” she said.

“She was the most genuine person and it struck a chord with me, just everything she’d been through when she was still a mighty strong woman.”

Michelle Buckley and Geraldine Canning came to lay flowers at the memorial on Monday evening.

Ms Buckley said O’Connor was an inspiration to Irish women.

“I think she’s just amazing in every way. Her singing voice was amazing but her own voice was amazing too,” she said.

“And she definitely was a woman for the people of Ireland, especially for the women of Ireland, without a doubt.”

Ms Buckley said O’Connor’s public protest on SNL in the 90s was “fearless”.

She added: “That was a strong woman, a fearless woman that did that, ripping up the Pope’s photograph. That wasn’t an easy thing to decide to do.

“And she stood up for us. She stood up for Ireland. When everything that was happening, the abuse, all that, it didn’t stop. But she stood up and people listened.”

When asked if she thought O’Connor was ahead of her time, Ms Buckley said the abuse O’Connor suffered in her own life gave her the courage to speak out.

“It’s not that she was ahead of her time, she suffered so much abuse and so much sadness, she wasn’t afraid to say it,” she said

“It wasn’t that she was ahead of her time – she wasn’t afraid to say it. When people kept quiet and were terrified or silent, Sinead O’Connor stood up and made her voice be heard.

“And that’s what we love about her and will never forget.”

Large public memorials for O’Connor have been held in a number of cities including London, Dublin and Belfast.