Celebrity3 min(s) read
Published 16:02 11 Jan 2022 GMT
Sinead O'Connor has apologized for "lashing out" at the health services in Ireland following the death of her teenage son.
The singer's 17-year-old son, Shane, was found dead in Dublin on Friday, January 7, one day after he went missing, the police confirmed.
O'Connor announced Shane's death on Twitter, writing that he "decided to end his earthly struggle today and is now with God".
In a series of tweets, O'Connor said the teen was under suicide watch at Tallaght Hospital in Dublin when he went missing.
She also criticized Ireland's family-services agency, Tusla, as well as the national health authority, the Health Service Executive (HSE).
"Tusla and HSE to release dishonest a**-covering statement in response to international questioning. A load of lies, refusals to accept responsibility. Couched as always in the omnipotent and false concern they claim to have for the privacy of the children who die on their watch," the singer wrote on Twitter.
"I'm going to take private time now to grieve my son. When I am ready I will be telling exactly how the Irish State in the ignorant, evil, self-serving, lying forms of Tusla and the HSE enabled and facilitated his death," she wrote in another tweet.
O’Connor had previously said he was "on suicide watch" at the Tallaght Hospital.
O'Connor previously said that her son was hospitalized following a number of incidents of serious self-harm. In one tweet, she wrote that he had apparently already planned his own funeral.
In another tweet, O'Connor said she had formally identified the 17-year-old's remains. "May God forgive the Irish State for I never will," she added.
The 'Nothing Compares 2 U' singer has since apologized to Tusla for her comments.
In a tweet shared on January 11, O'Connor wrote: "Ok, I’m gonna do the right thing here and apologize for lashing out.
"Tusla are working with very limited resources. They loved shane. They are broken hearted. They are human. I am sorry I have upset them. We are a third world country. It’s not their fault."
The 55-year-old went on: "The issue is.. We are a third world country. We have 12 beds in special care for suicidal teenagers. And no resources to save those who can’t manage life. 128 icu beds in the whole country.
"Tusla did their best. We all did: and I am deeply sorry to have blamed anyone."
O'Connor went on to say that the funeral will be attended only by herself and Shane’s father, Irish folk musician Donal Lunny, as per Shane's wishes that were "expressed in his suicide notes".
If you or someone you know is in crisis, please reach out for help and contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255, text HOME to 741741, or visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.
