‘Strong Sinéad’: The Lost Photos

When DaviD Belisle arrived in London in 2014 to take photos of Sinéad O’Connor, he found an artist who finally seemed at peace. She had just released an album, I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss, and was, Belisle recalls, “in a great place. She was in such incredible shape. She had quit smoking cigarettes and everything.” O’Connor invited Belisle to take photos as she shot a video for “Take Me to Church.” Trying to learn the location of the shoot, Belisle got a sense of her wit. “I wasn’t hearing from anyone,” he says. “Then, the night before, she texted:

‘We don’t know where yet. It’s like Kim Kardashian’s fucking wedding.’ ”

In the years after the video shoot, O’Connor’s life would take a tragic turn: She was forced to cancel a tour for I’m Not Bossy after needing an emergency hysterectomy, and two years later she suffered a public breakdown, during which she was reported missing. In 2022, she was devastated by the death of her son, Shane. Finally, in July of this year, she was found dead at her home in London at age 56. These never-seenbefore photos come from that 2014 shoot, capturing a fiery but contented period in a turbulent life.

Down to Earth

Belisle captured the moment when footage from O’Connor’s classic “Nothing Compares 2 U” video was incorporated into the “Take Me to Church” clip. “They’re projecting it onto her face at that precise moment,” he says. “And it just looks creepy and weird.”

Before the shoot began, Belisle saw O’Connor interact with the people doing her makeup, who weren’t aware they were working on an O’Connor video until they arrived. “When I came into the dressing room at the very beginning and saw the person who was doing her nails, her hands were shaking,” he says. “And Sinéad said to her, ‘Are you hungry? Do you want to eat something?’ I felt like Sinéad O’Connor was not impressed with Sinéad O’Connor. She would be in catering with everyone. She just hung out with everyone. She did not want any special treatment at all.”

Brighter Side

During a break in the video shoot, O’Connor chilled out with John Reynolds, her producer, ex-husband, and father of one of her children (those are his hands in the photo). “They were just sitting there talking,” says Belisle. “She would often see me shooting and then smile or do something funny. Here, she was being cheeky because she knew she was wearing so much makeup. She told me, ‘This is the first time I’ve been in a music video in over 14 years.’ So she was a little nervous.”

Jah Is Her Keeper

At O’Connor’s show at the Vienna State Opera House in 2014, Belisle captured the “Jah Is My Keeper” tattoo on her back — a line from Peter Tosh’s “Creation” that was a nod to her love of reggae and Rasta culture. Belisle also noticed a piece of paper taped to her stage monitor that read, in big block letters, “Blow Job.” “She got nervous up there, so I think she needed to lighten things up,” he says.

‘It Was So Badass’

For the “Take Me to Church” video, O’Connor brought her own wardrobe, including a burgundyred vinyl dress. “This looks like that strong Sinéad to me,” Belisle says. “The lyrics of the song are like, ‘I don’t wanna be that girl no more/I don’t wanna cry no more.’ She was wearing a wig, and at the end of the video, she ripped it off. It was so badass.”

Strapped In

This close-up shot has always stuck out in Belisle’s memory. One thing that’s striking: O’Connor’s guitar strap, which was decorated with photos of the singer’s four children. But he was also moved by the sight of O’Connor’s neck, and the way it showed the force of her voice. “Her neck muscles showed the strength she got from singing,” Belisle says.