Before Sinéad O’Connor died on July 26, 2023, her son Shane Lunny died in 2022. What was the singer’s son’s cause of death?
Sinéad O’Connor wasn’t just a music legend, she was also a mother.
On July 26, the Irish singer’s family confirmed in a statement to RTE that she has died at age 56.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad,” the statement read. “Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
The singer — who broke through in 1990 with her No. 1 hit “Nothing Compares 2 U,” a song written and composed by Prince — was the mother of four children, including her late son Shane O’Connor, who died at age 17 in 2022.
Following her passing many want to know more about her son Shane Lunny who died earlier in 2022 before her. So read on for more about what happened to Shane Lunny.
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Who was Shane Lunny?
Shane Lunny (real name: Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor) was singer Sinéad O’Connor’s second son and her overall third child.
In 2004, O’Connor welcomed her third child, a son named Shane Lunny, with Irish singer Donal Lunny. In 2021, she called Shane “a real mommy’s boy … He just loves his mommy since the day he was born.”
In the interview, O’Connor added of her then-teenage son that he was less focused on going to college, instead hoping to follow in his mom’s footsteps.
“He’s the one of them that keeps saying he wants to be a musician,” she said. “He’s a brilliant wordsmith. When he was 8, he was sent to a particular organization that assessed his intellect, and they said that in his use of vocabulary, he was the age 16. He’s a master of English. So he wants to be a rapper in particular, which I’d say he’d be great at because he’s a brilliant wordsmith.”
Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
How did Shane Lunny die?
The following year, O’Connor dealt with a major tragedy as Shane died by suicide at age 17 in January 2022, a week after going missing.
“My beautiful son, Nevi’im Nesta Ali Shane O’Connor, the very light of my life, decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God,” she tweeted at the time. “May he rest in peace and may no one follow his example. My baby. I love you so much. Please be at peace.”
In a follow-up post, the “Nothing Compares to You” singer tweeted a Bob Marley song, which she dedicated to Shane. “This is for my Shaney. The light of my life. The lamp of my soul. My blue-eye baby,” she wrote. “You will always be my light. We will always be together. No boundary can separate us.”
Shortly before O’Connor’s own death in 2023, she posted another tribute to her son. “Been living as undead night creature since,” his death, she wrote on Twitter. “He was the love of my life, the lamp of my soul. We were one soul in two halves. He was the only person who ever loved me unconditionally. I am lost in the bardo without him.”