Voice of pure magic.. with so much to say

Family anguish at singer's death, Tributes from around the globe, Her heartbreak over tragic teen son

- MATT ROPER

SINEAD O'Connor broke hearts around the world with a voice of incomparable beauty and tragedy, and now her death aged 56 has left millions heartbroken again.

The mother-of-four, whose cause of death was not known last night, was a self-confessed troubled soul, whose angelic tones delivered a defiant message in a life filled with pain.

Her death came 18 months after son Shane took his own life at 17 after leaving hospital while on suicide watch. In her last tweet, she posted a photo of him, writing: "Been living as undead night creature since.

"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." Sinead rose to international fame with 1990 hit Nothing Compares 2 U. She was never comfortable with stardom but used it to challenge the wrongs she saw in society and stand up for others who were suffering.

And she was always defiantly herself, even when that caused shock or revealed her emotional fragility.

Born in Dublin on December 8, 1966, Sinead was shaped by a troubled childhood. Her parents split when she was eight and at the age of 13 she left her mother, Marie, to go and live with her father, Jack.

Later in life she claimed she started having mental health issues because her mother abused her as a child.

Aged 15, Sinead's shoplifting and truancy led to her being placed for 18 months in a corrective school in Dublin. The Grianan Training Centre was previously one of the notorious Magdalene asylums for "fallen women". She later recalled: "I have never, and probably will never, experience such panic and terror and agony over anything."

But it was also where she found solace in writing and music, and where one of the nuns spotted her talent, bought a guitar and pushed her to have lessons.