Dolores O’Riordan from the Cranberries died suddenly on January 15, 2018

Dolores O’Riordan, lead singer of The Cranberries, has died suddenly at the age of 46.

Dolores Mary Eileen O’Riordan (September 6, 1971 – January 15, 2018) was an Irish singer, songwriter, musician and lead singer with The Cranberries.

Dolores O’Riordan was born on September 6, 1971 in Ballybricken, County Limerick, and was the youngest of nine children, two of which sadly died in infancy. Her father, Terry O’Riordan (1937–2011), was a farm labourer and her mother, Eileen, a school caterer.

In 1990 O’Riordan auditioned for a band called the Cranberry Saw Us and got the job of lead singer. The band later changed its name to the Cranberries and went on to release five albums: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can’t We? (1993), No Need to Argue (1994), To the Faithful Departed (1996), Bury the Hatchet (1999), and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001), and a greatest-hits album called Stars: The Best of 1992-2002. The Cranberries then broke up in 2003.

In September 1995, Dolores O’Riordan performed “Ave Maria” with the legendary tenor, opera singer, Luciano Pavarotti.

In 2004, Dolores appeared with the Italian singer Zucchero on the album Zu & Co., which also featured Sting, Sheryl Crow, Luciano Pavarotti, Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, and Eric Clapton. She also worked with composer Angelo Badalamenti on the film soundtrack for Evilenko, singing on several tracks, including the theme song “Angels Go to Heaven”.

In 2005, she appeared on the track “Mirror Lover” on the Jam & Spoon’s album Tripomatic Fairytales 3003.

In 2006, Dolores O’Riordan was listed as one of the 10 richest women in Ireland.

Her first solo album, “Are You Listening?”, was released in May 2007 with the first single from it, “Ordinary Day”, having been released in earlier in late April.

“Ordinary Day” was produced by Youth, who had previously produced tracks for The Verve, Embrace, Primal Scream, U2, and Paul McCartney. In August the second single from the album, “When We Were Young”, was released.

In January 2009, Trinity College, Dublin’s University Philosophical Society asked The Cranberries to reunite for a concert celebrating O’Riordan’s becoming an honorary member of the Society. This led to the band members considering reuniting for a tour and to record again.

Dolores O’Riordan’s second solo album, “No Baggage”, which featured 11 tracks, was then released in August 2009.

On August 25, 2009, while promoting the album in New York City, O’Riordan announced the reunion of the Cranberries for a world tour. The tour began in North America in mid-November, followed by South America and finally to Europe in March 2010. The band played many of the Cranberries’ classics songs, songs from O’Riordan’s two solo albums, and some new songs.

On June 9, 2010 The Cranberries performed at the Special Olympics opening ceremony at Thomond Park in Limerick. Prior to this they had not performed in their native city in over 15 years.

In 2013, O’Riordan told of how she was sexually abused for four years, from the age of eight, by someone she had trusted.

She appeared as a judge and coach on RTÉ’s The Voice of Ireland during the 2013–14 season.

On May 26, 2016, The Cranberries announced that they planned to start another tour in Europe. The first show was held on 3 June.

In May 2017, Dolores O’Riordan publicly discussed her bipolar disorder, which she said had been diagnosed with two years earlier. That same month, The Cranberries blamed her back problems for the reason they had to cancel the second part of their European tour.

On January 15, 2018, while in London for a recording session, O’Riordan died unexpectedly at the London Hilton on Park Lane hotel in Mayfair. She was only 46 years old.

The cause of death was not immediately made public, but on September 6, 2019 the Coroner’s Court ruled that she died as a result of accidental drowning in a bathtub, following sedation by alcohol intoxication.

On January 23, 2018 Dolores O’Riordan was buried alongside her father on the same grave at Friarstown, County Limerick, following a service at Saint Ailbe’s Roman Catholic Church, Ballybricken, County Limerick. The service began with the recording of the “Ave Maria”, sung by O’Riordan and Luciano Pavarotti and ended with The Cranberries’ song “When You’re Gone”.

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