Late Irish singer and musician Sinéad O’Connor was a mother of four kids. Let’s meet her sons, and daughter as she lost one of her children in 2022.
The singer and activist found worldwide fame with her epic ballad Nothing Compares 2 U in 1990 – one of the standout songs of the decade.
Sinéad who had a highly successful career in the entertainment industry died on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at the age of 56.
As per RTÉ, the star’s family said in a statement: “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”
She was a mother before she died and following her death, many are curious to know more about her bereaved kids. Read on for more about her family.
Who are Sinéad O’Connor’s children?
Sinead was born in Glenageary, County Dublin on December 8, 1966, and was one of five children raised Roman Catholic.
Her troubled teenage years, involving shoplifting and truancy, saw her placed in the Magdalene asylums for 18 months.
There she began to discover her love of singing and in 1984 she met Colm Farrelly, with whom she formed a band called Ton Ton Macoute.
About her kids, Sinéad O’Connor was a mother of four, welcoming three sons and one daughter throughout her lifetime. The names of her children are Jake Reynolds, 36, Roisin Waters, 27, Shane Lunny, 18, and Yeshua Bonadio, 16. She had all her kids with four of her partners.
How many partners did Sinead O’Connor have?
Sinéad was married four times. The Irish superstar wed her first husband, record producer John Reynolds, in 1987. The pair divorced in 1991. She then tied the knot with journalist Nicholas Sommerland in 2001. The former couple officially split in 2004. The Dublin native was then married to Australian-Irish musician Steve Cooney from 2010 to 2011. In 2011, Sinéad wed Irish psychotherapist Barry Herridge.
Jake Reynolds
O’Connor welcomed her first child, son Jake Reynolds, in 1987 with music producer John Reynolds. In 2015, Jake and his girlfriend Lia welcomed their first child, a baby boy, making O’Connor a grandmother.
At the time, O’Connor excitedly announced the news on Facebook, posting a cartoon that spelled out, “It’s a boy,” alongside the caption: “Don’t mess with abuelita.”
Speaking with PEOPLE in 2021, O’Connor said that “I see [my children] as much as they want to see me,” which had become less frequent with her adult children lately “because they’re just so busy themselves with their children.”
She also revealed that her two eldest are in the food services profession: Jake is a chef, and Roisin is a pastry chef.
Roisin Waters
In 1995, O’Connor welcomed her first and only daughter Roisin, whom she shares with journalist John Waters. Following her birth, O’Connor and Waters went through a lengthy custody battle; after O’Connor attempted suicide, she gave custody of Roisin to Waters, as MTV News reported in 1999.
In 2014, Roisin made a rare public appearance with her mother when the two performed a duet on Icelandic TV.
Despite having a “great singing voice,” O’Connor told PEOPLE in 2021, she was relieved her daughter decided to be a pastry chef instead of going into the music industry. “I used to be frightened of her getting into the music business because I thought they would treat her like they treat me,” she explained. “I didn’t want that.”
Shane Lunny
In 2004, O’Connor welcomed her third child, a son named Shane Lunny, with Irish singer Donal Lunny. Speaking with PEOPLE 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 be 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.”
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.”
Yeshua Bonadio
O’Connor’s fourth child, a son named Yeshua Bonadio, was born in 2006. She shares Yeshua with Frank Bonadio. In 2021, O’Connor spoke about Yeshua’s interests, noting he was also an “incredible musician … [He] plays piano and everything incredibly and an incredible singing voice.”
However, she noted that Yeshua “could do anything” career-wise. “He’s half American, so he’s interested in going to college in America,” she said at the time. “His father is a scientist. So we’ll see. But I would not be surprised if he got into music, because he likes money.”