'She wasn’t a celebrity to us, she was just Sinead, a wonderful friend'
Sinead O'Connor's acts of kindness are being remembered after the Irish singer's death at the age of 56 last week. Amongst them is a retired English teacher from Preston, Lancashire who shared how the Nothing Compares 2 U singer gave his terminally ill daughter the "best week of her short life" in 1991 – with Sinead reaching out to her fan out of the blue and inviting her to spend a week with her at her London flat.
Louise's dad Philip recalls how the Grammy Award-winning artist "spoke so quickly and softly" when reaching out to his daughter from Los Angeles. He notes how the singer "must have read Louise's story in the press", as they had been hosting charity events to raise funds for their local hospice.Sinead invited Louise to spend some time with her in London and was at Euston station to meet her young fan when she went on to travel down from Blackpool station.
"That night they went out drinking and dancing — and met up with singer Peter Gabriel. From all accounts, it was a wild night and I don’t think they got any sleep," Peter tells The Sun. "They ended up in Pizza Express, where Sinead and Louise sang Love Shack at the top of their voices." Sinead kept in touch with Louise, even giving her young fan her platinum disc for Nothing Compares 2 U during another London visit and dedicating her Christmas song Silent Night to her. When Louise's illness worsened, Sinead reached out with flowers, cards and phone calls.