Russell Crowe’s moving tribute to Sinead O’Connor

Crowe has penned a touching tribute to Sinead O’Connor, revealing that he met her by chance on the streets of Ireland last year.

Actor Russell Crowe has penned a moving tribute to Sinead O’Connor, revealing that he met the singer by chance on the streets of Ireland last year.

Beloved singer-songwriter O’Connor has died at the age of 56, just 18 months after her 17-year-old son tragically lost his life.

“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Sinéad. Her family and friends are devastated and have requested privacy at this very difficult time,” her friends and family said in a statement today.

As tributes flowed from fans and others in the industry, among the most touching is one from Crowe, who recounted on Twitter a story of meeting O’Connor in the seaside Dublin suburb of Dalkey in 2022.

Russell Crowe met Sinead outside an Irish pub last year. Picture: Scott Powick

Sinead’s death has devastated music lovers. Picture: Getty

Here’s what Crowe wrote:

Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us. Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf.

One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman. Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waved me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinéad. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness “oh, it’s you Russell”.

She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea. In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer. I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine.

When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights.

We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman.

Peace be with your courageous heart Sinéad.

Fans thanked the Gladiator star for sharing the story so eloquently.

“That was Sinead. A force of nature. Those of us who had the chance to be in her company occasionally were blessed,” author Shane Dunphy wrote in response.

“You were meant to be a writer. I hope you don’t abandon it,” wrote one follower.

“Wonderful tribute to a wonderful person,” said another.

O’Connor’s death comes after her son Shane, 17, died by suicide in January 2022 after escaping hospital while on suicide watch. He had been hospitalised following two previous attempts. Shane was one of Sinead’s four children, the three other being Jake Reynolds, Roisin Waters, and Yeshua Francis Neil Bonadio.

Originally published as Russell Crowe’s moving tribute to Sinead O’Connor