Is courage the greatest virtue? Tributes have poured in for Sinéad O'Connor, her music and her activism. But some say they come too late for the visionary who dared to tell the truth.
The troubled genius who took on the world
Is courage the greatest virtue? Tributes have poured in for Sinead O'Connor, her music and her activism. But some say they come too late for the visionary who dared to tell the truth.
Two tears and a heavenly voice. Sad and strong. Sinead O'Connor's extraordinary song Nothing Compares 2 U made her famous.
The Irish musician died last week, aged 56. Friends and fans remember a trailblazer with her unique voice, brazen skinhead and outspoken views. But she also struggled with her mental health.
O'Connor said thoughts of her abusive mother triggered the real tears shed in her iconic 1990 video. She said her mother made her shopliftTo steal from a shop by pretending to be a customer. . And aged 14 she was sent to a Magdalene asylum.
Women and girls were abused in these asylums run by the Catholic ChurchThe word Catholic means "universal". A Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope. . However, one nun gave O'Connor a guitar, kick-starting her career in music.
The nuns belonged to the Order of Our Lady of Charity. In the Bible, Saint Paul calls charity, selfless love, "the greatest" virtue.
O'Connor showed this in her activism. For her, music was a means of improving the world.
But to keep doing good things takes courage, said writer Maya Angelou. For many, Sinead O'Connor's most inspirational quality was her bravery in risking her career to oppose injustice.
In 1992 she tore up the pope's photo live on television. It was a protest against child abuse. She faced a backlash and it ended her pop career.
But her punkA subculture centred around a loud and fast-moving type of music popular in the 1970s. spirit lived on. "She did not compromise," says musician Tim Burgess. She did not hide away but risked insults and attacks in the media.
This enraged the singer Morrissey. "You praise her now only because it is too late," he told the press. "You hadn't the guts when she was alive." Instead of calling her "mad", people should have respected her courage and insight.
Because in 2018, the pope apologised for the "crimes" of the Catholic Church in Ireland. O'Connor had been right. "She was decades before her time," wrote journalist Caitlin Moran, "Rest in power, queen."
<h5 class="wp-block-heading eplus-wrapper" id="question"><strong>Is courage the greatest virtue?</strong></h5>
Yes: Faith, hope and charity are all very well - but you need a punk attitude to change the world. "The people who run the music industry," wrote O'Connor, are "frightened" of music and what it can do.
No: Courage is not a virtue on its own. You can be brave and bold and very wrong. Courageous people also need to be wise and kind otherwise their fearless actions will be foolish and even harmful.
Or... There is no greatest virtue. Sometimes we need patience, other times it is best to act. Bravery can get us into trouble and so can love. We need different skills and we need to know when to use them.
Shoplift - To steal from a shop by pretending to be a customer.
Catholic Church - The word Catholic means "universal". A Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope.
Punk - A subculture centred around a loud and fast-moving type of music popular in the 1970s.
The troubled genius who took on the world

Glossary
Shoplift - To steal from a shop by pretending to be a customer.
Catholic Church - The word Catholic means "universal". A Christian denomination with over a billion followers worldwide, led by the Pope.
Punk - A subculture centred around a loud and fast-moving type of music popular in the 1970s.