I've always admired Sinead O’Connor for her integrity and bravery and ‘Rememberings’ is a raw and unflinching account of her life - just as you'd expect. But it’s also shows her wicked sense of humour, her strong convictions and her devotion to causes she believes in. She’s really one of a kind.

Childhood

The book is in two parts, as Sinead became ill during its completion. The first part is a relatively straight retelling of her childhood years - including beatings at the hands of her mother, and her subsequent death when Sinead was a teenager. In her own words, Sinead is a difficult child, troublesome and often moving between schools. She never blames her parents for her behaviour - she attributes her mental difficulties to genetic traits of depression and an incident when she was hit by the door of a passing dart train at blackrock station.

The second part of ‘rememberings’ is more episodic and scattered, losing some of the drive of the first. It moves faster, documenting her children, Rastafarianism and Islam, mental health troubles and relationships. I enjoyed Sinead reading the book, and she tells us at one stage that she and Donal Lunny produced her sixth album (the excellent Sean Nos Nua album) and then with a giggle, also her third child. She's got a wicked sense of humour that's on show throughout and there are some glorious anecdotes here. It’s in this section that Sinead comes across as incredibly vulnerable and at times deeply troubled.

Prince

Dylan, Lou Reed, Dr Phil (Asshole) and Muhammad Ali all feature, and there’s an incredibly weird incident with Prince. The furore around her appearance on Saturday night is gripping as is the fallout from it. As Sinead reminds us, she is a protest singer, not a pop star.

There's a lot of pain on show throughout ‘rememberings,’ but there's also resilience. Sinead O’Connor never wanted fame, and very much dances to the beat of her own drum. She takes great solace in her faith and seems to be in a better place by the books end. After listening to this, I have even more respect for her - she has both integrity and strength of character, and her voice is a gift to us all. A true trailblazing legend and a book to do her justice.

Book review - Rememberings - Sinéad O’Connor

Hardcover, 288 pages

Published June 1st 2021 by Sandycove

July 26 2023 Update. Just heard on the radio about Sinead and sitting here listening to her music, trying to take it in. Genuine trailblazer. Ar dheis de go raibh a anam.