Wax figure of Sinéad O'Connor unveiled in Dublin ahead of anniversary
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A wax figure of Sinéad O’Connor has been unveiled in the National Wax Museum Plus in Dublin, just a day before the first anniversary of her death.
The singer-songwriter was remembered on Thursday at the museum by its director, Paddy Dunning, who met O’Connor when she was 17 and he was 18. The pair remained friends throughout the rest of her life.
He told the : “This is a happy and sad point for me, but I'm proud to keep her legacy alive on the level of her image being here, which is what the wax museum is all about.
“With Sinéad, I think her career will last centuries to come. Her songs are amazing and she’s an Irish artist that I think we’ll never forget.”
The figure captures the singer’s likeness in the Nothing Compares 2 U music video, which Dunning said put her on the world’s stage. Dressed in black, the wax work has a neutral but “forlorn” expression.
“We focused on that period of her life. We didn’t want to do the ripping up of the Pope[‘s image].
“We put her as a serious artist, in that period of Nothing Compares 2 U, which was an emotional scene, an emotional video. I think it touched everybody’s hearts — somebody crying literally a real tear.”
During the launch, Dunning thanked a member of the public for stopping by to donate some of O’Connor’s clothing, including a headscarf and a dress. “We’ll treasure that.”
The museum’s in-house sculptor, PJ Heraghty, said it was important to capture her atmosphere as a “sad individual”.
“Since it was Nothing Compares 2 U that was going to be played, I figured that was the way to go. You couldn’t have her really grinning like a Cheshire cat playing that in the background,” he said.
On creating the figure, he wanted to capture her “huge irises”, as it was often a feature that people remarked about.
Dunning paid tribute to Heraghty and said he was “one of the best sculptors in Europe, if not the world”.
“The detail on the top of the head is amazing, the eyebrows, the lips, the outfit. The hands are pretty amazing as well,” he said.
Heraghty will be taking a few weeks off after the sculpture, which took approximately nine months, rather than the typical minimum of three, due to his health problems. He told the his intention “was to retire” but that he’ll “see how it goes”.
“At 70, I’ve been saying that since 65. You have to be stupid in this line of work.”
The Wax Museum said they would be calling on the public to decide the next wax figure to be added to their collection.
O’Connor’s wax figure is on display in the museum on Westmoreland Street and will be moved between there and the Irish Rock ‘N’ Roll Museum Experience in Temple Bar.
The singer died on July 26 last year.