THOUSANDS OF MEMBERS of the public turned out to pay their respects to The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan in Limerick.The 46-year-old was found dead in the Hilton hotel on Park Lane in London on Monday morning. An inquest into her death will take place on 3 April.“Irish and international singer Dolores O’Riordan has died suddenly in London. The lead singer with the Irish band The Cranberries, was in London for a short recording session. She was 46 and is survived by three children.
O’Riordan became the lead singer in The Cranberries before the Limerick band would go on to gain huge success in the early to mid-90s.The band went on to have four US Top 20 albums, with single Linger landing at number 8 in the US. Zombie, which rose to number three in the Irish charts, remains among the band’s best-known songs.
The band would release Wake Up and Smell the Coffee in 2001 before going on hiatus in 2003. They reformed in 2012 to release Roses and again last year for Something Else. The band was forced to cancel all of its dates on that tour due to O’Riordan’s back problems. The band sold around 40 million records worldwide.
Before Christmas, she posted to the band’s Facebook page saying: “Feeling good! I did my first bit of gigging in months at the weekend, performed a few songs at the Billboard annual staff holiday party in New York with the house band. Really enjoyed it! Happy Christmas to all our fans!! Xo”.O’Riordan had also released two solo albums; 2007′s Are You Listening? and 2009′s No Baggage.“Family members are devastated to hear the breaking news and have requested privacy at this very difficult time.”Tributes have begun pouring into O’Riordan, with one calling her the “Queen of Limerick”.