Five bits of trivia about Dolores O’Riordan
Former lead singer of Irish band The Cranberries, Dolores O'Riordan has died, and here are five bits of trivia about the legacy she leaves behind.
Dolores O’Riordan was born in Ballybricken, County Limerick, Ireland and lived to become one of the greats in the history of Irish music, achieving worldwide success with The Cranberries.
The group, which at first went by the name The Cranberry Saw Us struggled to gain recognition in their early years.
However, on a tour where they supported English band Suede, they were noticed by MTV. This resulted in their music videos beginning to see major rotation.
From there, everything sky-rocketed, with their first two singles (Dreams and Linger) being re-released and achieving major success the second time round.
In 2003, they took a break from the recording industry, but in 2009 they re-formed, after which they went on numerous tours worldwide.
During their hiatus, O’Riordan embarked on a solo career with which she achieved mild success.
Dolores O’Riordan was publicly announced to be deceased at the age of 46 after her body was found in her London hotel room on Monday, 15 January.
In honour of a memorable career, we’ve put together five interesting bits of information about Dolores O’Riordan.
1. Linger got her into The Cranberries
The band was initially formed in 1989 as The Cranberry Saw Us by brothers Mike and Noel Hogan along with Fergal Lawler and Niall Quinn, in Limerick, Ireland.
Less than a year later, Quinn left the band and the remaining band members advertised a position for a female singer.
O’Riordan responded to the ad, auditioning by writing lyrics and melodies to existing demos. She would return with a rough version of Linger, after which she was hired by the band.
2. She was arrested in 2014
O’Riordan was arrested and charged in November 2014 for air rage on an Aer Lingus flight from New York to Shannon.
During the flight she allegedly grew verbally and physically abusive with the crew.
She resisted arrest after landing, saying that her taxes paid their wages and shouting “I’m the Queen of Limerick! I’m an icon!”, headbutting one Gardai officer and spitting at another.
She later told the media that she had been stressed from living in New York hotels following the end of her 20-year marriage.
3. She held a free concert in 2007
O’Riordan cancelled what remained of her European tour on 19 November 2007 due to illness but still held a number of shows in the United States. One of these was a free holiday benefit show at The Groove Lounge in Charlottesville, Virginia. She performed 11 songs in front of the biggest crowd ever seen at the venue.
4. She joined a second group in 2014
Dolores O’Riordan began to record an album in 2014 as part of musical group, D.A.R.K.
She formed part of the group alongside Olé Koretsky and former The Smiths bassist, Andy Rourke.Their only album, Science Agrees was released on 9 September 2016.
5. O’Riordan was cool with the Popes
O’Riordan grew up a Roman Catholic and was granted the opportunity to meet Pope John Paul II in 2001, and 2002.
She also met Pope Francis in 2013, a week before her second performance at the annual Christmas concert at the Vatican, with her first appearance coming in 2001.
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