Sinead O’Connor is done with the music industry. In a series of tweets this past Friday, the Irish singer revealed that she will be retiring “from touring and from working in the record business” starting immediately. Her upcoming album No Veteran Dies Alone, which she implied is already recorded, is due out next year and will serve as her final LP.
“I’ve gotten older and I’m tired. So it’s time for me to hang up my nipple tassels, having truly given my all. NVDA in 2022 will be my last release. And there’ll be no more touring or promo,” she tweeted. “It’s not sad news. It’s staggeringly beautiful news. A wise warrior knows when he or she should retreat: #MeTime. It’s been a forty year journey. Time to put the feet up and make other dreams come true ;)” Read the entire announcement in full below.
O’Connor made her debut back in 1987 when she released The Lion and the Cobra. She was barely 20 years old at the time, and she’s since gone on to record 10 studio albums total. Along the way, she’s become an icon for her outspoken lyrics, mental health efforts, and varied activism, including her iconic denouncement of the Catholic Church and it’s long history of covering up child sex abuse.
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Of course retirements, much like band breakups, don’t always last forever. O’Connor is only 54 years old, so there’s plenty of time for her to consider a comeback tour or a special one-off live performance. In fact, she’s already indicated that she would be willing to become a coach on the Irish version of The Voice, tweeting, “If they ever want me, they can contact my managers :)”.
That said, O’Connor shared another tweet yesterday afternoon that implies her retirement is very much the real deal. “Really happy that my last recording is gonna be the one song I always dreamed of singing and haven’t yet, Mo Ghile Mear,” it reads. “And as the outro song for the Micheal Flatley movie (I dunno it’s name). Recording next weekend 🙂 Can’t fuggin wait.”
Before the pandemic started, O’Connor was scheduled to tour North America for the first time in six years, but she ultimately put those dates on hold to enter a one-year rehab program for trauma and addiction. She’s been working on getting to a better, more stable place since then. As her new memoir Rememberings indicates, her path to a brighter future has been a work in progress ever since she was a child, as her life has always been peppered with unfortunate abuse, mental illness, and controversies.
This is to announce my retirement from touring and from working in the record business. I’ve gotten older and I’m tired. So it’s time for me to hang up my nipple tassels, having truly given my all. NVDA in 2022 will be my last release. And there’ll be no more touring or promo.
— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 4, 2021
It’s not sad news. It’s staggeringly beautiful news. A wise warrior knows when he or she should retreat: #MeTime ❤️
— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 4, 2021
It’s been a forty year journey. Time to put the feet up and make other dreams come true ; )
— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 4, 2021
Apologies if any upset caused to booking agents or promoters or managers due to my tweeting about my retirement. I guess the book made me realise I’m my own boss. I didn’t wanna wait for permission from the men, as to when I could announce it. Also, I’d had a few whiskeys : )
— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 5, 2021
PS re retiring…. have always wanted to be one of the artists involved in presenting and mentoring on the The Voice of Ireland … But never was free to do it. Am now : )
So if they ever want me they can contact my managers : )— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 6, 2021
Really happy that my last recording is gonna be the one song I always dreamed of singing and haven’t yet, Mo Ghile Mear 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
And as the outro song for the Micheal Flatley movie (I dunno it’s name). Recording next weekend : )
Can’t fuggin wait #FlatelysATotalRide— Sinead O’Connor (Shuhada Sadaqat) (@MagdaDavitt77) June 6, 2021
