Sinead O'Connor's devastated dad shares heartbreaking weekly ritual
The 87-year-old admitted he cried every day for two weeks when he learned of his daughter's sudden death at her apartment in London in 2023.
He said: "When Sinéad passed, I cried my eyes out for a fortnight. I still miss her," he told Oliver Callan on his RTE Radio 1 show on Thursday.
"Of course it's a comfort (the outpouring of grief by the public), but Sinéad had two personas. One was in the public arena and the other was with her family and I saw her funeral as being lovely for her fans.
"At a personal level, I've never had publicity in respect of Sinéad and it made it all the more hurtful for all of us when she died.'
Sean said he visits her grave every week and 'brings her up to date'.
"I visit her grave every week... and we have a conversation and I bring her up to date. I put my hand on her gravestone which is designed by my daughter Eimear. It's very simple, it just says 'Sinead O'Connor'. Two dates - born and died and 'God is love'. It's more to do for her fans.. with the family, it is in the heart."
When Callan said it was "very difficult, as a dad", Mr O'Connor agreed. The radio presenter asked what he did for Sinéad when "the fame part was cruel to her", and he replied: "You can't do anything except be there.
"Sinéad could be outrageous in the public world and she could be outrageous in the family, she could be cranky. In the end I always had compassion for her, she was always on the edge. We got on very well, most of the time, sometimes she'd fall out with me." Sinead O'Connor (Image: David Corio/Redferns via Getty Images)
He also recounted the happy memory of the last time he saw Sinéad when they took a three-night holiday in Wexford and said that having so much family around him helped when she died.
"It was a sad time, the extent of the family around me helped," he added.
Last year, an inquest revealed that the mother-of-four died from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma. The 56-year-old was found unresponsive by officers at her apartment in London.
Two weeks before she died, she told her fans that she had recently moved back to London after a 23-year absence - and she was "very happy to be home".
She said she was finishing an album that was going to be released this year - and planned to launch a world tour spanning Australia, New Zealand, Europe and the US.
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