THE DAUGHTER of late singer Sinead O’Connor has honoured her mother with a moving rendition of the star’s breakthrough hit, Nothing Compares 2 U.
Roisin Waters performed O’Connor’s 1990 hit at a special show celebrating her late mother and fellow Irish musician Shane MacGowan.
Waters, 28, was among a host of stars at New York’s Carnegie Hall on Wednesday, March 20 for a St Patrick’s celebration of the late singers, who passed away within months of each other last year.
O’Connor passed away on July 26, 2023 at the age of 56, while MacGowan died on November 30, 2023, aged 65.
Taking to the stage near the end of the show, Waters’ singing was at times reminiscent of her mother’s distinctive voice.
Other performers at the event included Co. Meath singer Lisa Hannigan, who sang I am Stretched on Your Grave, which featured on O’Connor’s 1990 album, I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got.
Meanwhile, Dubliner Imelda May performed This is to Mother You from O’Connor’s 1997 Gospel Oak EP.
May also took to the stage for a duet with Glen Hansard as the pair sang the Pogues song Haunted, a version of which O’Connor and MacGowan recorded in 1996.
Others to pay tribute to MacGowan at Carnegie Hall included the Dropkick Murphys, who performed The Body of an American, while Billy Bragg sang A Rainy Night in Soho.
Speaking to the audience, Victoria Mary Clarke spoke of the musical legacy left by both her husband MacGowan and friend O’Connor.
“I think both of them would be very proud to know that their songs are being performed by so many people all over the world,” she said.
“As a songwriter, when you write a song and it has life and it carries on and people interpret it and people do their own version of it, that’s really the most you can hope for as a songwriter.”