By Kim McGuire
FROM WIKIPEDIA COMMONS
Shuhada’ Sadaqat (previously Magda Davitt; born Sinéad Marie Bernadette O’Connor; 8 December 1966 – July 2023), known by her birth name, was an Irish singer and musician. Her debut studio album, The Lion and the Cobra, was released in 1987 and charted internationally. Her second studio album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got (1990), received glowing reviews upon release and became her biggest success, selling over seven million copies worldwide. Its lead single, “Nothing Compares 2 U” (written by Prince), was named the number one world single in 1990 by the Billboard Music Awards.
She released ten studio albums: 1992’s Am I Not Your Girl? and 1994’s Universal Mother both went gold in the UK, 2000’s Faith and Courage received gold status in Australia, and 2005’s Throw Down Your Arms went gold in Ireland. Her work also includes songs for films, collaborations with many other artists, and appearances at charity fundraising concerts. Her 2021 memoir Rememberings was a best seller.[14]
Throughout her music career she had been unabashedly honest about her spiritual journey, activism, socio-political views, as well as her trauma and mental health struggles.
In 1999, she was ordained as a priest by the Latin Tridentine Church, a sect that is not recognized by the mainstream Catholic Church. She consistently spoke out on issues related to child abuse, human rights, anti-racism, organised religion, and women’s rights. In 2017, O’Connor changed her name to Magda Davitt. After converting to Islam in 2018, she changed it to Shuhada’ Sadaqat. However, she continued to record and perform under her birth name.
