Irish singer Dolores O’Riordan mourned by hundreds

Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan had a loving heart, a voice of gold and starred in the gig of life itself, mourners at her funeral have heard.

Hundreds who packed into a small church in rural Co Limerick to say farewell to the musician were told she is now singing in a heavenly choir.

Her distinctive voice, described at the mass as unique, far reaching and distinctly Irish, filled the Church of Saint Ailbe in Ballybricken at the outset, as her duet of Ave Maria with Luciano Pavarotti was played.

The 46-year-old was found dead in a London hotel room last week.

In his homily, family friend Canon Liam McNamara said O’Riordan’s voice was worth its weight in gold.

“Her kind personality and beautiful singing voice earned for her numerous admirers,” he said.

“It must be added that the numbers she rescued from the darkness of depression are impossible to count.

“No words are adequate to describe Dolores or to accurately state the influence for good she has been over the years.”

The Cranberries enjoyed huge success in the 1990s with tracks including Zombie and Linger.

O’Riordan – who was also a member of alternative rock group DARK – had been working on a new studio album with The Cranberries in the months before her death.

Pictures: Getty/PA. Top: the coffin is carried out of the Church of St Ailbe; above: Dolores’ mother Eileen; left: band member Noel Hogan arrives for the funeral.