Sinéad O’Connor has stated that her childhood shoplifting experience triggered the start of her career.
According to the singer, petty thefts led to her being sent to the Catholic reformatory An Grianán, whose memoir Remembering’s will be released on June 1st.
After a brother of one of the volunteers at the institute heard her sing, she was placed in An Grianán for 18 months, where her career took off.
Sinéad stated to Roisin Ingle on The Irish Times Women’s Podcast that she was frequently requested to steal stuff for other people since she was a fast runner.
Sinéad O’Connor continues to captivate.
“We didn’t have any money. “Everyone was fleeing because the country was bankrupt,” the Dubliner stated.
“However, the reason I was a thief was that myself and my closest friend at the time, Ciara O’Flanagan, who later became my assistant during the glory years, as I refer to them, could sprint 100 meters in 11.3 seconds.
“However, the teens in the class would persuade me to steal the clothing so that I could go to concerts because I would just put them on in the shop and run.
“No one had any money to go to shows, dress up, or get off with the man, you know?”
After stealing a pair of shoes for a friend from British Home Stores on O’Connell Street, where the Penneys building now sits, the 54-year-old was ultimately arrested.
“Eventually, a friend requested me to steal a pair of gold shoes for her since we were all going to see The Pretenders,” she explained.
“I rob the British Home Stores of their gold shoes… but this time I didn’t escape because I was too smug. I took the sneakers and went away.
“A hand on my shoulder said, ‘Excuse me, miss.'”
Sinéad, on the other hand, saw the incident as a blessing.
She laughed, “That hand on my shoulder was the start of my career because it sent me to An Grianán!”
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