Bob Geldof tells fans he received text messages ‘charged with despair, despair and grief’ from Sinead O’Connor in the days before his death at the age of 56

Sir Bob Geldof has revealed he was in contact with Sinead O’Connor just before she was found dead, calling her a “great woman” who was “full of terrible loneliness”.

The singer, 71, said her text messages in recent weeks had been a mixture of “desperation and hopelessness” as well as hopeful as she penned new songs.

Sir Bob, who was performing at the Cavan Calling festival in Ireland this weekend, paid tribute to his friend, who died last Wednesday aged 56.

He said: “She meant a lot to everyone, she meant a lot to us. His voice represented his soul and his spirit. And every time we hear that, we’ll always be with a great woman.”

Ms O’Connor’s neighbors said she struggled with the suicide of her son Shane last year and had recently moved from Ireland to London due to loneliness.

But in her latest Twitter video from her new flat near Brixton, the singer revealed she was writing new material and planning to tour the UK, Ireland and Australasia.

Sir Bob told fans: “There is no other option, as you all know, but to carry on. Time and time again, Sinead was filled with terrible loneliness and terrible despair.

“She was a very good friend of mine. We were talking until a few weeks ago. Some of her lyrics were filled with despair, desperation and grief and some were ecstatic joy. She was like that.

Sir Bob with his “good friend” Sinead O’Connor in Dublin in 2020

Ms O’Connor was finishing a new album, considering tour dates for next year and also considering “opportunities” around a film from her book, a message from her management company said.

“Wonderful plans were afoot at the time,” they added of the Grammy-winning singer and songwriter who was found unresponsive by police at the south London property.

The death of the Irish star is not being considered suspicious and was confirmed by his family in a statement given to Irish media.

Music management company 67 Management said on its website that it wanted to send “love, our thoughts, our prayers” to Ms O’Connor’s family, while thanking the singer’s fans “who prevailed in their support and kindness.”

Their message added: “As a tribute to those who have been part of the Sinead team during our tenure, it is worth mentioning that Sinead was finishing their new album, considering new tour dates for 2024 and considering related opportunities. with a film from his book.

“Wonderful projects were underway at that time. Testament and tribute to those who put their hearts first for Sinead, to whom we are eternally grateful.

The post, from Kenneth and Carl Papenfus, ended by saying: ‘It has been an honor to have worked with Sinead professionally, as musicians, producers and his artist managers over the past nine years, but so much more. than that, Sinead was a family.

‘May she rest in peace.’

The London Inner South Coroner’s Court said last week that no medical cause had been given in O’Connor’s death and that an autopsy would be carried out.

The result may not be available for several weeks, a statement on the court’s website said.

Her final video from inside the house where she revealed she was positive about writing new songs and touring in the weeks before her death

Ms O’Connor has struggled since her son Shane, 17, took his own life in January 2022 after escaping from hospital while under watch. She posted this photo with her son two weeks ago

The building in Lambeth, south London, which housed the flat of Sinead O’Connor, who died last Wednesday. Neighbors said she was often on the balcony of her penthouse or smoked outside the building talking about her life and her faith.

Following the death of the Dublin-born singer, politicians, musicians, actors and charities around the world paid tribute to her for her contributions to the music industry and for her awareness of social issues.

Ms O’Connor shot to international stardom in 1990 with her version of the hit ballad Nothing Compares 2 U and made headlines in 1992 when she tore up a photo of Pope John Paul II in the American television show Saturday Night Live, triggering a fierce reaction. .

The musician, who spent time early in her life in a notorious Madeleine laundry set up to house “fallen women”, spoke frequently about the child abuse scandal in the Catholic Church.

In 2021, she released her memoir titled Rememberings which has been described as a “unique and remarkable chronicle by a unique and remarkable artist”.

She had recently returned to live in London after a long absence and an account reported to be hers had been posted on Twitter, now known as X, in the days before her death about her new album and tour.

Hundreds of people gathered at the London Irish Center in north London on Thursday night to celebrate his life and music, while in Dublin dozens gathered outside the Wall of Fame to pay their respects to the “beautiful soul”.

Paying tribute to him, musician Kate Bush wrote on her website that it was “like a light went out, wasn’t it?” A lighthouse on a high mountain’.

Dublin’s famous landmark, the Samuel Beckett Bridge, was lit up with the lyrics of Nothing Compares 2 U.