Sinéad O’Connor’s daughter sings Nothing Compares 2 U at New York tribute

Róisín Waters was joined by several artists honouring O’Connor and Shane MacGowan at Carnegie Hall

Irish artists Sinéad O'Connor and Shane MacGowan both died in 2023. Photograph: Des Willie/Redferns
Irish artists Sinéad O'Connor and Shane MacGowan both died in 2023. Photograph: Des Willie/Redferns

Róisín Waters, Sinéad O’Connor’s daughter, paid tribute to her late mother on Wednesday with a performance of Nothing Compares 2 U.

Waters was performing at Sinéad and Shane, an event at New York’s Carnegie Hall honouring O’Connor and Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, who both died last year. O’Connor died in July, aged 56, and MacGowan died in November, aged 65.

O’Connor’s version of Nothing Compares 2 U spent weeks at number one in Ireland and the UK in 1990 and propelled her to stardom. The moving cover by Waters at Carnegie Hall was received with rousing cheers and applause by the audience.

She was joined by several artists paying tribute to O’Connor and MacGowan, with performances from Glen Hansard, Imelda May, former Pogues member Cait O’Riordan, David Gray, Cat Power and Resistance Revival Chorus among others.

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Hansard and O’Riordan teamed up to perform The Pogues hit Fairytale of New York, with Hansard also joining May to cover O’Connor and MacGowan’s duet Haunted.

All proceeds from the gig will be donated to PEN America, a non-profit that promotes freedom of expression in the US.