Sinéad O'Connor's music re-enters Irish charts after singer's death

Sinéad O'Connor's music has re-entered the Irish charts a week after her family confirmed the singer-songwriter's death on Wednesday, July 26.

"So Far... The Best of Sinéad O'Connor" has jumped a huge 74 places on the Irish Recorded Music Association's (IRMA) albums chart for the week ending August 11.

O'Connor's 1987 debut album "The Lion and the Cobra" newly entered the ranking landing in 23rd, as did her 1990 album "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got," which came in at 28th.

In IRMA's singles chart, O'Connor's 1990 smash-hit "Nothing Compares 2 U" has moved up 30 places to number 7 since last week. 

"Mandinka," the second single off O'Connor's debut album, has also re-entered the singles chart at number 15. 

On Spotify's Weekly Top Artists Ireland ranking, O'Connor jumped 12 spots becoming the sixth top artist in Ireland for the week of July 28 - August 3.

On the streaming platform's Weekly Top Songs in Ireland chart, "Nothing Compares 2 U"  is number 16, "Mandinka" is number 30, and "Drink Before the War" is number 132. 

Both "All Apologies" and "Troy" newly entered Spotify's weekly song chart, landing at 134 and 143 respectively. 

On Spotify's Weekly Top Albums Ireland chart, "I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got" climbed to 11th spot, "Lion and the Cobra" climbed to 14th, and "Universal Mother" had the highest gain of any album, jumping 119 spots to 69th.

56-year-old O'Connor's death was confirmed by her family in a statement on Wednesday, July 26: "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."

The following day, Metropolitan Police in London said: “Police were called at 11:18hrs on Wednesday, 26 July to reports of an unresponsive woman at a residential address in the SE24 area.

“Officers attended. A 56-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene.

“Next of kin have been notified. The death is not being treated as suspicious. A file will be prepared for the Coroner.”

The London Inner South Coroner's Court later confirmed that no medical cause of O'Connor's death was given and that an autopsy would be conducted. 

“The death of Sinéad O’Connor in Lambeth was notified to the coroner on Wednesday July 26 2023," the Coroner's Court said in a statement.

“No medical cause of death was given.

"The coroner therefore directed an autopsy to be conducted. The results of this may not be available for several weeks.

“The decision whether an inquest will be needed will be decided when these results are known and submissions have been heard from the family.

“If an inquest is to be opened, the date of the brief public hearing will be provided on our website.”

The Coroner further said that O'Connor's date of death was unknown.

On Thursday, August 3, O'Connor's remains were released to her family after an autopsy was conducted. The results of the autopsy might not be returned for several weeks and the conclusion of the autopsy will be publicly disclosed if an inquest is opened.