Sinéad O'Connor: The Last Interview and Other Conversations

A significant collection of interviews with the defiant, controversial, and ground-breaking singer, songwriter, and activist throughout her turbulent career . . .

“It’s not like I got up in the morning and said, ‘Okay, now let’s start a new controversy’.”  -- Sinéad O’Connor

Sinéad O'Connor’s music — both in her songwriting and in her beautiful voice —addressed both emotional despair and incandescent joy with glorious ardor. But she may have been just as well known for her outspokenness. This collection of interviews covers the entire span of O'Connor's career, from the early days to her last interview. From giddy teenager to seasoned superstar, she speaks candidly about her meteoric rise to fame, and recounts what happened when she ripped up a photo of Pope John Paul II on live television in an act of protest. Unguarded and unpredictable, O'Connor was a woman who electrified the globe: imaginative, opinionated, and eloquent.

Sinéad O'Connor (8 December 1966 - 26 July 2023) was a singer, songwriter, and activist. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and achieved international chart success. Her 1990 album, I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got, was her biggest commercial success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Her memoir Rememberings (2021) received broad critical praise, and she was the subject of the documentary Nothing Compares (2022).

Kristin Hersh is a musician’s musician, a songwriter’s songwriter, and an innovator’s innovator. The Queen of Grunge’s first band, Throwing Muses, began recording and playing out when they were just 14 years old. She has released more than 20 albums solo, with Throwing Muses, and with her noise rock band, 50 Foot Wave.

Rolling Stone named her first book, Rat Girl, one of the ten best rock memoirs of all time.  NPR said of her second book, Don’t Suck, Don’t Die, “Not only one of the best books of the year, but one of the most beautiful rock memoirs ever written.” Her third, the game-changing Seeing Sideways, describes raising four sons on a tour bus. 

Hersh's book The Future of Songwriting was published by Melville House in 2024.

Table of Contents
 
Introduction     
Kristin Hersh
New Orleans, May 2024
 
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Interview by Kate Holmquist
The Irish Times
October 17th, 1986
 
I Open My Mouth and Scream
Interview by Barry Egan
New Musical Express
October 29, 1988
 
Sinead O’Connor: The Rolling Stone Interview
Interview by David Wild
March 1, 1991
 
Special Child
Interview by Bob Gucccione, Jr.
Spin
November 1991
 
Going It Alone
Interview by Deirdre Mulrooney
“Mothers and Babies” supplement, The Irish Independent
July 2004
 
Jah Nuh Dead
Interview by Nicholas Jennings
Inside Entertainment
July 2005
 
Something Beautiful
Interview by Jody Denberg
KUTX 98.9 Radio, Austin, Texas
April 11, 2007
 
Q&A: Sinead O’Connor on How Gays Changed Her Life and Getting Her D*ck Hard
Interview by Chris Azzopardi
Pride Source
July 22, 2014
 
Protest Singer
The View/American Broadcasting Company
June 25, 2021