Holding flowers and singing her smash hit ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’, hundreds of Irish people gathered in south Dublin today to pay their last respects to Sinead O’Connor who died at the age of 56 at the end of July at her home in London.

After the funeral service which was held in the morning in a close circle, in the presence of the President of Ireland Michael Higgins and the Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, the funeral procession moved along the seafront of Bray, the small village south of Dublin where O’Connor lived for a period of 15 years.

Thousands of people, visibly moved, walked alongside the hearse, with some showering her with flowers while others sang her well-known hits. At the head of the procession, a van was draped in LGBT flags and Bob Marley’s “Natural Mystic” was playing over the loudspeakers.

“Sinead loved life in Bray,” her family wrote in a statement released on Sunday. “With this litany, the family wants to honor the residents” of the area and give them the opportunity to say “the last goodbye”.

The procession passed in front of the singer’s old house, where many wreaths were placed. “Sinead, thanks for listening and responding. Sorry for breaking your heart,” read a message left on the door of the home.

“The outpouring of grief and events honoring Sinead O’Connor’s life and work testify to the profound influence she had on the Irish people,” Ireland’s president said in a statement, noting her “unique contribution” and ” her wonderful creativity”.

During the ceremony, before the procession, Imam Umar al-Qadri, the head of the Muslim Council of Ireland, said a prayer in memory of Sined, who converted to Islam in 2018 and had changed her name to Suhanda Sandakat.

“It is an honor to be here on this occasion and I sincerely thank the family that embraced the Muslim identity” of the singer, he wrote on the X platform.

Sinead O’Connor’s burial will take place at a later date, in a close family circle.