Fans of Sinead O'Connor gathered outside the singer's former home in Bray Co Wicklow as they lay touching tributes to the singer as her funeral cortege to passed by.
The hearse bearing Sinead's coffin, which was covered with blue flowers, made its way along the Bray seafront while mourners threw red and yellow flowers onto the roof of the vehicle. A campervan playing the iconic singer's music accompanied the hearse.
Sinead's family allowed her fans to say a final goodbye to the iconic singer as they invited mourners to stand along Bray seafront before a private burial on Tuesday morning.
The funeral cortege began at the Harbour Bar and will continue to the other end of Strand Road passing by the singer and activist's former home, where she lived for 15 years.
A eulogy for Sinead O’Connor at her private funeral has said she “suffered more than her share of hardship and adversity”.
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The funeral cortege passed through her former hometown of Bray (PA)Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, an Islamic scholar and Chief Imam at the Islamic Centre of Ireland, added: “Gifted with a voice that moved a generation of young people, she could reduce listeners to tears by her otherworldly resonance.
“One need only listen to her a cappella version of Danny Boy or the traditional Irish tune Molly Malone to know this about her gift. Sinead’s voice carried with it an undertone of hope, of finding one’s way home.
“The Irish people have long found solace in song from the sufferings of this lower abode, and Sinead was no exception, and in sharing that solace, she brought joy to countless people the world over.”
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Sinead was found unresponsive at her home in London last week (PA Wire)He also gave his “heartfelt gratitude” to Sinead's family and added that he was “humbled by the privilege” of delivering her service.
Bob Geldof, Bono and Edge were pictured leaving Coliers funeral home in Bray after the private funeral service.
On Tuesday, the president of Ireland issued a statement saying he is attending the private funeral service for Sinead O’Connor.
Michael D Higgins said: “The outpouring of grief and appreciation of the life and work of Sinead O’Connor demonstrates the profound impact which she had on the Irish people.The unique contribution of Sinead involved the experience of a great vulnerability combined with a superb, exceptional level of creativity that she chose to deliver through her voice, her music and her songs.
Bob Geldof was seen leaving Coliers funeral home in Bray after a service for Sinead O'Connor“The expression of both, without making any attempt to reduce the one for the sake of the other, made her contribution unique – phenomenal in music terms, but of immense heroism. However, achieving this came from the one heart and the one body and the one life, which extracted an incredible pain, perhaps one too much to bear.
“That is why all those who are seeking to make a fist of their life, combining its different dimensions in their own way, can feel so free to express their grief at her loss.”
Councillor for Bray East Erika Doyle, who connected with Sinead when she first moved to Bray, told BBC Breakfast: “We are very grateful to Sinead’s family for allowing us the opportunity to say goodbye this morning.
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Sinead died at her home in London in July (PA)"The seafront in Bray is over a kilometre long so there is plenty of opportunity for people to gather and already I can see a lot of activity here this morning.
“Last night we ended our summer festival, there was fireworks and a funfair and even as that was going on, there was a constant stream of people turning up with flowers, candles, laying tributes, so we are really happy to be a part of her final journey and say goodbye this morning.
Tributes outside the former home of Sinead O'Connor in Bray, Co Wicklow (PA)“Sinead, although she was attached to Bray and she was very Irish and that was a huge part of her identity, she was a global superstar and that is easy for us to forget here in Bray where we saw her as a mum and as a neighbour, but she touched lives all across the world so we are expecting people here certainly from Bray, from Wicklow, from across Ireland but also from abroad and even the media interest this morning is global, it’s not Irish.”
Sinead's fans were invited to pay their respects to the iconic singer in a statement, which read: “Sinead loved living in Bray and the people in it. With this procession, her family would like to acknowledge the outpouring of love for her from the people of Co Wicklow and beyond, since she left last week to go to another place.
Fans outside the former home of Sinead O'Connor in Bray, Co Wicklow, ahead of the late singer's funeral (PA)"The Gardai have asked that people gather, if they would like to say a last goodbye to the singer, from 10.30am on Tuesday along the Bray seafront.“
The 56-year-old singer, who was best known for her 1990 single Nothing Compares 2 U, died at her home in London in July.
A tribute to the singer was unveiled on a cliff near to Bray over the weekend with large, white letters spelling out "Éire loves Sinéad".
Fans gathered outside Sinead's former home (PA)Designed by Dublin-based creative agency The Tenth Man, the agency's creative director, Richard Seabrooke, told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme that Sinead's death hit him "like a tonne of bricks".
He added: "Her story is intertwined with ours over the last couple of decades. To see how much she has helped change this country and see how much this country has changed because of Sinéad... we just felt like it needed to be said and luckily a couple of people agreed to go up a cliff at dawn time."
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