Offaly poet honours Sinéad O'Connor in new work

AS the nation bids a last, sad farewell to the late Sinéad O'Connor, a Lusmagh poet has honoured the singer/songwriter in a new work. The piece, Rest Now, Warrior, comes from the pen of Anthony Sulivan.

Speaking about the poem, Sullivan recalled the shock of hearing the news about O' Connor's sudden passing on July 26th, at just 56 years old. 

"I'd literally just walked in from work, sat down on the couch and switched on Sky News, and as I did, the news of her death was just beginning to break. And to say it came as a shock really doesn't even begin to describe what that moment felt like. And not just for me, of course. I know music fans all over the world, and indeed, people who simply admired Sinéad for who she was and all that she stood for, were feeling that exact same sense of disbelief in those moments. It was surreal, unreal, and heartbreaking all at once." 

For Sullivan, the magnitude of such a moment inevitably led to him reaching for pen and paper not long after...

"Sinéad was already an icon of Irish music, a legend even as she still walked among us. But she was more than just a singer, and more than just a songwriter. She was a poet. She was a warrior. She was a leader. All of those things and more. To lose her so suddenly, while still so young, and knowing that she would still have had so much more magic to weave from her words and music if she was still with us... there's a sadness to that which just flattens you, to be honest. And even more so because we all knew how difficult a time she was having since the loss of her son Shane early last year. It's just the most heartbreaking situation."

The Lusmagh man continued, "I never had the pleasure of meeting Sinéad, so I was never able to tell her how much her courage - often at a huge personal cost to her - meant to so many. But, like so many more of us, I felt a need to wish her peace at this time. So this poem is, in some small way, an attempt to acknowledge her greatness as a human being, how better off we are for having had her walk among us, and how deep her loss will be felt." 

Sullivan, who is also a songwriter, is currently working on his third collection of lyrics and poetry which he hopes to publish before the year's end. His previous collections are 2004's Under Star And Under Sun, and 2009's Pilgrim In The Heartland.

REST NOW, WARRIOR – For Sinéad

Now, let this warrior know rest

Allow this poet draw her breath

And let this prophet find her peace

In a passing much more than death

For onward now has she ventured

To roam free o’er those longed-for lands

The curse of the seer lifted

No longer beseeching demands

Now, as ever in our mourning

Senses heightened to ev’ry change

Grief is sharper on the swallow

Amidst the too early exchange

Of voice, of vision, and of flame

For mem’ry only evermore

Your torch is now your legacy

And ours to carry and adore

How we needed you amongst us

Outcasts, wounded, and the broken

We followed you into battle

Your name always truth when spoken

Your path came to too soon an end

To lead you from the wilderness

For as long as you could, you fought

And tamed life’s rage with tenderness

So rest now, warrior of light

You’ve rhymed all you could from chaos

Pity us that could not love you more

May your song bless us in our loss.  

~ Anthony Sullivan, July 31st, 2023