Mystery over how Dolores died

Singer was ‘upbeat’ and ‘full of life’, friends say

MYSTERY continued to surround the death of Dolores O’Riordan last night after it emerged she was found in the bathroom of her London hotel room.

Workers at the Hilton on Park Lane in Mayfair said staff went into her room on Monday morning thinking it was empty, but found The Cranberries lead singer in the toilet.

She was pronounced dead at the scene and police said it was unexplained, adding that it was not suspicious.

One hotel worker said: ‘The people who found her said they found her in the toilet. I think it was the cleaners who had gone in there because there was no activity around the hallway or from the room.

‘They didn’t say how they found her; this has been kept private. It was a shock to me because I knew this woman from her ’90s band.’

Another staff member said: ‘They found her in the bathroom. But the staff that found her have not said anything more.’

The 46-year-old Limerick singer had been in London to record a cover of The Cranberries huge hit single Zombie with the rock band Bad Wolves.

Ms O’Riordan had suffered from bipolar disorder and depression throughout her career. And the American website TMZ yesterday reported friends describing her as ‘dreadfully depressed’ in recent weeks.

But a long-time friend and music producer, who was one of the last people to hear from her, told how she sounded ‘full of life’, in a phone voicemail message just hours before her death.

Dan Waite, who was involved in the collaboration between her and Bad Wolves, said: ‘The news that my friend Dolores has passed deeply shocked me.

‘I worked with The Cranberries at Universal Records and have kept in touch ever since.

‘Dolores left me a voice message just after midnight stating how much she loved Bad Wolves’ version of Zombie; she was looking forward to seeing me in the studio and recording vocals.

‘She sounded full of life, was joking and excited to see me and my wife this week.

‘The news of her passing is devastating and my thoughts are with Don her ex-husband, her children, and her mother.’

His comments echoed those of Dave Davies, of The Kinks, who said Ms O’Riordan ‘seemed happy and well’ when he spoke to her before Christmas.

Record producer Martin ‘Youth’ Glover, who was due to meet Ms O’Riordan for a recording session the day of her death, said he had spoken to her at the weekend and she had been upbeat and looking forward to it.

He told RTÉ: ‘I spoke to her at the weekend. We were confirming that she was coming in Sunday night and that she’d come here about midday, 12.30 on Monday.

‘It was good timing for her, it wasn’t going to be stressful.

‘She was coming in the night before and we were both excited about seeing each other again.’

Glove had sent her a text on Monday to see if she was still available to come to the recording studio, but never got a response.

‘I kind of actually tidied up the home a bit to get it ready for her.

‘I thought, actually I’ll go out and get some fresh flowers for her, spruce up the studio a bit. She’s probably a bit tired after the flight or something,’ he said, adding that when he was in the flower shop, he received a call from his manager to tell him Ms O’Riordan had died.

Her death came two weeks after her partner and bandmate, New York-based musician Ole Koretsky, had posted a picture of them together on his Instagram page with the caption: ‘NYE: take away, TV, pajamas.’ The couple both played in Ms O’Riordan’s latest band D.A.R.K. and were seen on nights out here.

Yesterday her nieces and nephews paid tribute to the beloved aunt they remembered fondly as ‘Auntie Lolo’.

Niece Elaine O’Riordan posted a social media message describing her ‘devastation’ at her aunt’s passing.

‘Words can’t describe the shock and sadness we are all feeling. Watch over Dad, Nana and all your brothers and sisters and kids. It’s going to be a very tough road ahead at your loss, we all love you xxx. I’m sure you and granddad will have a great time up in heaven together. Until we meet again xxx.

‘Only one Auntie Lolo, you will be sorely missed. Rest in Peace. Love you xxx Still doesn’t feel real xoxoxo.’

The post accompanied a picture of Ms O’Riordan surrounded by love hearts.

Leo Varadkar yesterday said she was the voice of a generation. ‘No matter where one was in the world in recent times, it would not be long before one heard a Cranberries song on the radio, even in the most far-flung places,’ the Taoiseach told the Dáil.

Despite huge international success, Ms O’Riordan had a troubled life. In 2014, she split from her husband of 20 years, former Duran Duran tour manager Don Burton.

They have three children together, Taylor, 20, and daughters Molly, 16, and Dakota, 12, who live with their father in Canada.

She once spoke of a ‘terrible self-loathing’ which had been worsened by her accelerating career and led to anorexia.

Ms O’Riordan also continued to suffer with a lot of back pain, which caused her to cancel a string of shows in May last year.

In 2013 she revealed she had endured years of sexual abuse as a

‘Staff found her in the bathroom’ ‘She was joking and excited to see us’

child which had started when she was just eight years old.

Speaking about it she told the Belfast Telegraph: ‘It was something that I noticed manifested itself in my behaviour and the pathologies I began to develop in my early adult life, such as my eating disorder, depression and eventually the breakdowns.

‘I think I am getting stronger for sure. But I’ll always be a bit of a train wreck. Nobody’s perfect.’

She also admitted that she had ‘tried to overdose’ in 2012.

In 2014 fears were raised for her health after she assaulted an air hostess on a flight from New York to Shannon Airport and then attacked the gardaí who were sent to restrain her. She pleaded guilty to the assaults, with her lawyer telling the court the breakdown of her marriage had been causing her emotional stress. She was fined €6,000 after medical reports said that she had been suffering a manic episode and remembered nothing about it.

A standing ovation was held in memory of Ms O’Riordan at a 60th birthday party for Pogues singer Shane MacGowan in Dublin on Monday night. And members of Bad Wolves said they were ‘shocked and saddened’ by her death.

The band’s singer Tommy Vext said: ‘We always felt the rawness and honesty she projected on stage and in her recordings was something to which all bands should aspire to, regardless of genre. When we heard she liked our version and wanted to sing on it, it was the greatest compliment a new band, or any band for that matter, could have received.’

The band had submitted their upcoming album to record company Eleven Seven Music, whose chief executive Allen Kovac sent it to Ms O’Riordan who offered to add her own vocals.

Mr Waite, international managing director of Eleven Seven, confirmed the recording session was due to take place on Monday, the day Ms O’Riordan was found at about 9.05am.

Hundreds of people have been queueing to sign a book of condolence at Limerick City Hall since her death was announced. The parish priest from Ms O’Riordan’s home town, Fr James Walton, has confirmed her funeral will take place in Limerick where she will also be buried.

Her children who live in Canada with their father are expected to travel to Ireland in the coming days with their father.

A spokesman for Westminster Coroner’s Court said the death was being investigated but a postmortem had not yet taken place.

Ms O’Riordan was 18 when she successfully auditioned to be lead singer of The Cranberries and became known for her distinctive singing voice.

The band went on to release five albums, selling more than 40million copies worldwide, and in 1995 were nominated for the best international group at the Brit Awards.

Hit single Zombie, controversial as it was inspired by an IRA bombing that killed two children, won an Ivor Novello award in 1997. The band also enjoyed huge success with the track Linger.

They split in 2003 before reforming in 2009 and embarking on a reunion tour around America.

A Hilton hotel spokesman said: ‘It is with deep regret that we can confirm a guest sadly passed away at the hotel on Monday 15th January.

‘We offer our sincere condolences to their family at this difficult time. Team members acted swiftly to alert the Metropolitan Police and we are cooperating fully with their investigation.’

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said they were called at 9.05am on Monday and a report was being compiled for the coroner.

‘I’ll always be a bit of a train wreck’