A father has opened up on how Sinéad O’Connor forged a friendship with his daughter, who had terminal cancer.
O’Connor tragically died last week at the age of just 56, and since her death many stories have emerged about her kindness, generosity of spirit, and strong personal beliefs.
This story is about how the ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’ singer became an unlikely friend of Louise Woolcock, a young woman from Preston who had recently learned that she had cancer.
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Her father Philip said that her daughter received a phone call ‘out of the blue’ back in 1990 and was shocked to realise that it was Sinéad.
The singer was just about at the height of her fame, but still wanted to do something special for Louise.
Her dad told BBC News: "She must have heard of Louise's illness from the press as we were fundraising for the hospice,
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"She invited her to stay with her in London and they had an amazing time dancing all night and drinking."
The 20-year-old had been diagnosed with a rare soft tissue cancer, but still managed to stay with O’Connor on a few occasions, the first coming over the course of a week in 1991.
Mr Woolcock continued: "My daughter was a great admirer of her and loved her music,
"They became very close and had a wonderful time, which was very important to someone who was dying of cancer."
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He described how his daughter had particularly enjoyed ‘singing The B-52's Love Shack in Pizza Express and getting asked for autographs’.
As Louise was going through chemotherapy, Sinéad even agreed to shave her head to match her own style.
"Louise was having chemotherapy and Sinéad shaved her head," he explained.
"They were being asked if they were sisters because they both had shaved heads.
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"She [Louise] kept saying 'I'm just a student from Blackpool' but they still wanted her autograph too."
On the second visit that she made to O’Connor, Louise was even given the platinum disc for ‘Nothing Compares 2 U’.
The pair then kept in touch until Louise sadly died in 1992, with O’Connor regularly sending ‘flowers, chocolates, and fizzy wine’.
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Whilst Philip never actually met Sinéad, he did say: "We spoke on the phone at length about how we felt and Louise's prognosis, which wasn't good from the start".
"She [O'Connor] was heartbroken when she died. She was only 21.
"They had a wonderful friendship and both got a lot from it.”
Of the late singer, he added: "Sinéad was human, kind and good, a warm, compassionate woman and they both valued the friendship as equals.
"She was admirable and altruistic and never once sought any publicity for these acts of love."
Topics: Sinead O'Connor, Celebrity, Music, Cancer, UK News, Ireland
Tom Wood