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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Tina Campbell

Sinead O’Connor gave her kids specific instructions on what to do if she died

Sinead O’Connor once revealed that she had been preparing her children for her death ever since they were “small” and had given them specific instructions to follow.

The Irish singer, who died on Wednesday, was mum to Jake Reynolds, 34, Roisin Waters, 27, and sixteen-year-old Yeshua Bonadio. Her second son, Shane Lunny, died by suicide aged 17 last year.

Just two years ago, the Nothing Compares 2 U hit-maker spoke candidly about discussing her mortality with her offspring in an interview with People magazine.

During the chat, she explained that her priority in death was to protect her finances and body of work.

“See, when the artists are dead, they’re much more valuable than when they’re alive,” she told the publication in 2021, before making reference to rapper Tupac’s album sales increasing following his death. “It’s kind of gross what record companies do.”

Sinead O’Connor was concerned about record companies taking advantage if she died (PA Archive)

With this at the forefront of her mind, she went on to tell how she had “always instructed” her kids that if she “drops dead tomorrow” they were to ring her accountant before contacting 999.

Her reasoning for this was that she wanted them to “make sure the record companies don’t start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is.”

O’Connor’s family confirmed her passing on Wednesday after she was found “unresponsive” in a “residential address” in London.

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