'A few days ago we lost that shining light'- Screaming Orphans

A pop and folk band from Bundoran have paid a moving tribute to their friend Sinéad O'Connor. Screaming Orphans are a well known band which consists of the four Diver sisters, namely Joan, Angela, Gràinne and Marie Thérèse.

From a young age, the sisters performed with their mother Kathleen Fitzgerald, a well-known céilí singer, and when they became teenagers they formed their own band. The band has been touring Europe and the US since the 1990's. 

Sinéad O'Connor's family issued a brief statement on Wednesday evening announcing the death of the artist and activist.

Today the sisters took to social media to say they feel very fortunate to have had the opportunity to have met and performed with the legendary Sinéad O'Connor who allowed them to be themselves. 

In their tribute Screaming Orphans say: "We count ourselves among the very lucky. We were taught great life lessons by two powerful spiritual women, our mother and Sinead O‘Connor/ Shuhada Sadaqat."

They describe the singer coming into their life like a magical whirlwind: "She was kind, funny, really funny, powerful, beautiful, brave, smart, talented, fragile, humble and fearless, she made us fearless. We adored her. A few days ago we lost that shining light."

The Bundoran band said that Sinéad opened up a whole new world to them and lifted them onto world stages: "She let us dress and dance and act however we wanted. As we look back at all the videos we have together we are reinforced again and again with just how wonderful and giving she was.

"We had the worst dress sense and our dancing was just terrible but Sinead wanted us to be free and express ourselves however we wanted and she put us and our awful style and moves right up the front of the stage with her. We learnt the valuable lesson, let nobody force you to be somebody you are not. She fought for the vulnerable. She made us brave."

They describe as other-worldly being on stage and singing with the Dublin singer: "Thanks Sinead for letting us be a part of your extraordinary life. We will never stop missing you. And we will never tell on you."