Sinéad O’Connor’s death certificate confirmed she died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and bronchial asthma.
A year after the Irish artist and activist passed away at the age of 56, the news was first reported by the Irish Independent on Sunday.
O’Connor’s first husband and close friend John Reynolds registered the death certificate in London last Wednesday.
The document states that O’Connor died from “exacerbations of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and bronchial asthma and a low-grade lower respiratory tract infection.”
O’Connor died on July 26 last year at her home in south London, where police found her “unconscious”. At the time, they said they did not believe her death was suspicious.
In January, a coroner determined she died of natural causes.
Over the course of her 30-year career, O’Connor became a global sensation with her 1990 cover of Prince’s Nothing Compares 2 U, a song that thrust her into the spotlight, sometimes against her will.
In the public eye, she is known as an outspoken activist, most notably tearing up a photo of Pope John Paul II during a performance on Saturday Night Live in 1992.
Her death prompted an outpouring of condolences from friends, peers, collaborators and public figures.
Leo Varadkar, then Taoiseach, said: “Her music was loved around the world and her talent was unparalleled.”
O’Connor’s death came 18 months after her 17-year-old son, Shane, disappeared. She is survived by three living children.
