Dolores O'Riordan

In 1989, brothers Mike (bass) and Noel (guitar) Hogan formed The Cranberry Saw Us with drummer Fergal Lawler and singer Niall Quinn, in Limerick, Ireland. Less than a year later, Quinn left the band.[49][lower-alpha 1] He then told the remaining members that his girlfriend knew a girl who was looking for a band playing original material. On a Sunday afternoon, O'Riordan and Quinn came up at the band's rehearsal room: she sang a couple of songs that she had written herself and she also did a Sinéad O’Connor song, "Troy". The band was impressed and gave her a cassette with instrumentals, asking her if she could work on it.[50] When she returned with a rough version of "Linger", she was hired, and they recorded a demo tape, Water Circle, followed by Nothing Left At All, a three-track EP released on tape by local record label Xeric Records, which sold 300 copies.[51][52] The group changed their name to "The Cranberries" and released a four-track EP, Uncertain.[53][54] The owner of Xeric Studios, Pearse Gilmore, became their manager and provided the group with studio time to complete another demo tape, which he produced. It featured early versions of "Linger" and "Dreams", which were sent to record companies in the UK.[52] This demo gained attention from both the UK press and record industry, and sparked a bidding war between record labels. Eventually, the group signed with Island Records.[52]

O'Riordan has been recognised as a style icon, sporting a pixie cut or buzzed hair in the 1990s,[55] and performing barefoot, saying "it just feels comfortable and honest to pull your toes along the ground."[56] The New York Times mentioned that O'Riordan was responsible for a large portion of Dr. Martens boots sales in the 1990s.[57]

The Cranberries performing on the Roxy Bar show at Bologna in 1995

Early in 1994, O'Riordan injured her cruciate ligament in a ski accident and underwent major surgery. Her leg injury reoccurred unexpectedly, and led to cancellation of the three concerts scheduled in Ireland for December 1994. This resulted in a press backlash, while the audience was more understanding, as O'Riordan had mentioned that the concerts were not cancelled but postponed until June 1995.[58] On 18 July 1994, O'Riordan married Canadian-born Don Burton, ten years her senior, the former tour manager of Duran Duran.[59] They met while Duran Duran and the Cranberries were on tour together.[60] In September 1994, the Cranberries released "Zombie", the lead single of their second album No Need To Argue. The song reached No.1 of Triple J's Hottest 100, which was the first time a female-led band had topped the poll.[61][62][63]

In September 1995, O'Riordan performed "Ave Maria" along with Luciano Pavarotti; Princess Diana, who attended the live performance, told O'Riordan that the song brought her to tears.[64] Dolores O'Riordan and Fergal Lawler presented the award for Best Song at the MTV Europe Music Awards, in Milan, Italy, on 12 November 1998.[65][66] She performed live with her band at The Nobel Peace Prize Concert, at Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway, on 11 December 1998.[67] On 15 December 2001, O'Riordan performed solo in the Vatican as part of the annual Vatican Christmas Concert for Pope John Paul II. She sang "Analyse", "Panis Angelicus", "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night" with a 67-piece orchestra accompanying all artists. The show was broadcast to well over 200 million people around the world.[68][69] In 2002 she received a second invitation to perform at the Vatican Christmas Concert, also called Concerto di Natale in Vaticano. O'Riordan sang "Linger", "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" and "Adeste Fideles", on 13 December 2002. Dolores was supported by the Millennium Symphony Orchestra on the three songs, directed by Renato Serio, and also by the Summertime Gospel Choir on "Adeste Fideles".[70][71] O'Riordan met AC/DC singer Brian Johnson in June 2003 when The Cranberries were playing concerts with AC/DC and The Rolling Stones, and they considered the idea of working together.[72][73] In mid-July 2003, the two friends started collaborating on material for a project that should have been the rock opera version of Helen Of Troy, based on the Greek mythology. Johnson said he's been working on it for about seven years and that the musical to which O'Riodan would lend her voice was expected to feature many artists. He expected it to be completed in late 2003 so that it could be played in London.[74][75]

As part of The Cranberries, O'Riordan contributed to the release of five albums during this period: Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? (1993), No Need to Argue (1994), To the Faithful Departed (1996), Bury the Hatchet (1999), and Wake Up and Smell the Coffee (2001), and a greatest-hits compilation, Stars: The Best of 1992–2002.[76]

In 2003, the band decided to take a temporary time-out to experiment with solo projects.[77]

O'Riordan stated that she was exhausted from working without a break since the beginning of The Cranberries; she had become a prisoner of her own celebrity and did not find a balance in her life.[78] In The Independent, O'Riordan said she needed time not only to focus on her family and health but also on her solo career. She wished to be treated "like any ordinary person" living in Canada, and then became a volunteer at her children's school.[79]

Dolores O'Riordan on stage during a soundcheck at Festivalbar, Italy in 2004

In 2003, O'Riordan recruited Canadian music producer Dan Brodbeck and musicians to develop new compositions for her solo project.[80] Among them was drummer Graham Hopkins, whom O'Riordan said she "loved for his energy".[80] Also included bassist Marco Mendoza, who had been a long time friend with O'Riordan and her husband; while Mendoza's father was a good friend of O'Riordan's father-in-law.[80] As well as Steve DeMarchi as the main guitarist, who used to do live session work with The Cranberries, along with his brother Denny DeMarchi who played keyboards.[80] Brodbeck stated their hiring was "100 per cent based on personalities clicking and musical tastes".[81][82] O'Riordan stated in Hot Press her intention to work differently than with The Cranberries.[80] She started composing songs at home on the piano, then brought a programmer to the house to take charge of the Pro-Tools.[80] Once she had completed three or four songs, she went to a larger studio with her musicians.[80] Songs were recorded at Dublin’s Pulse Studios, others parts at Metalworks Studio in Toronto and Los Angeles.[80][81] DeMarchi brothers' family had long been friends with Dolores O'Riordan's husband and their three children.[81] In a Canadian newspaper, Denny DeMarchi, who played keyboards and guitars for The Cranberries in the early 2000s, stated she was a perfectionist on tour.[81][82] Occasionally during the show she'd turn to her musicians and cancelled a particular song in the moment.[81][82] Although the technical crew was frustrated because they had to make various changes, everyone was well aware that "she was emotionally not able to go there".[81][82] DeMarchi said: "for her, singing wasn't just something to deliver... it was a real experience."[81][82]

O'Riordan performed during the first concert of the Festivalbar on 29 May 2004, in Milan, Italy.[83] In 2004, she appeared with the Italian artist Zucchero on the album Zu & Co., with the song "Pure Love". The album also featured other artists such as Sting, Sheryl Crow, Luciano Pavarotti, Miles Davis, John Lee Hooker, Macy Gray and Eric Clapton. On 6 March 2004, she performed Ave Maria during the 54th International Song Festival at the Ariston Theater, San Remo, in northern Italy.[84] The same year she worked with composer Angelo Badalamenti of Twin Peaks fame on the Evilenko soundtrack, providing vocals on several tracks, including "Angels Go to Heaven", the film’s theme song.[85][86] In 2005, she appeared on the Jam & Spoon's album Tripomatic Fairytales 3003 as a guest vocalist on the track "Mirror Lover".[87]

On 3 December 2005, O'Riordan made her third appearance at the Vatican Christmas Concert, Concerto di Natale in Vaticano, where she performed "War Is Over", "Linger" and "Adeste Fideles" in duet with Gian Luca Terranova.[88] In December 2006 she would again be invited at Concerto di Natale in Vaticano who took place in Monte-Carlo as the Vatican Christmas Concert was canceled by the Pope Benedict XVI. She sang "Angel Fire" from her forthcoming solo album with an orchestra and Steve DeMarchi, also "Away In A Manger" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".[89][90] She made a cameo appearance in the Adam Sandler comedy Click, released on 23 June 2006, as a wedding singer performing an alternate version of the Cranberries' "Linger", set to strings. The video for "Ordinary Day" was shot in Prague, the video was filmed in Prague by Caswell Coggin.[91] In December 2006, Sanctuary Records signed O'Riordan for her solo album Are You Listening?. Since she had no label at the time and the music video was done, her husband and manager Don Burton stated that they decided to go with an indie and not continue with Universal Music Group during her hiatus.[92][93] Are You Listening? was released in May 2007. "Ordinary Day" was its first single, released in late April, and was produced by BRIT Awards winner, Youth, whose previous credits included The Verve, Embrace, Primal Scream, U2, and Paul McCartney.[94] In August "When We Were Young" was released as the second single from the album.[95][96] At that time, the couple split their time between Dublin and her husband's native Canada "surrounded by bears, wolves and all that great outdoor stuff", said O'Riordan. In a Hong Kong media, she described Are You Listening? as a fairly personal album, written more like a hobby for a period of four years.[97]

O'Riordan promoting her debut solo album Are You Listening? in 2007

O'Riordan performed on many televised live performances in 2007 in support of that record, and travelled to over 22 countries in Europe, North America and South America on the 2007 O'Riordan world tour. On 21 March, 2007, she performed on TV show Taratata in Paris.[98] On 20 April, 2007, O'Riordan made an appearance live on The Late Late Show,[99] On 16 May, 2007, she appeared on Carson Daly's late-night show, Last Call With Carson Daly.[100] on an episode that aired on 19 May 2007.[101] On 25 May, 2007, O'Riordan performed during a live broadcast on Sunrise Seven Network TV, on the 7 network in Australia. [102] During May and September 2007 she played acoustically at True Music with Katie Daryl on HDNet, USA.[103][104] O'Riordan took to the stage of Festivalbar another time on 29, June,2007, in Catania, Italy.[105] On 19 November 2007, she cancelled the remainder of her European Tour (Lille, Paris, Luxembourg, Warsaw, and Prague) due to illness.[106] In December, she performed in a few small American clubs, including Des Moines, Nashville, and a well-received free show in Charlottesville, Virginia.[107] In 2008, O'Riordan won an EBBA Award. Every year the European Border Breakers Awards recognise the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year.[108] In 2009, O'Riordan and her family moved full-time to Buckhorn, Ontario, Canada.[109]

In January 2009, the University Philosophical Society (Trinity College, Dublin) invited the Cranberries to reunite for a concert celebrating O'Riordan's appointment as an honorary member of the Society, which led the band members to consider reuniting for a tour and a recording session.[110][111][112] Of the performance O'Riordan commented, "the minute we started playing it felt like we’d never stopped. It’s a chemistry. It just fits".[113]

O'Riordan released her second album No Baggage, featuring 11 tracks, in August 2009.[114] The first single "The Journey" was released on 13 July 2009, followed by a second single, "Switch Off the Moment". The music video for "The Journey" was filmed in 16 mm on 8 May 2009, at Howth Beach Pier and at Howth Summit, Dublin, Ireland. The music video aired on 29 July 2009.[115]

On 25 August 2009, while promoting her solo album No Baggage in New York City on 101.9 RXP radio,[116], O'Riordan announced The Cranberries Reunion World Tour of 107 concerts.[117][118]

In October 2009, O'Riordan attended, along with actresses Tessa Thompson and Emma Bates, an event at The Westwood Theatre in Ontario, after a screening of South Dakota: A Woman's Right to Choose, a film about teenage pregnancy and abortion.[119] O'Riordan moderated a discussion with high school pupils, she remained neutral and allowed the girls to formulate their own opinions.[120]

O'Riordan performing with her signature Gibson SG Standard electric guitar at Paris, in May 2010.[121]

The tour began in North America in mid-November, followed by South America in mid-January 2010 and Europe in March 2010.[117][118] Also touring with the original members of the Cranberries was Denny DeMarchi, who played the keyboard on O'Riordan's solo albums. The band played songs from O'Riordan's solo albums, many of the Cranberries' classics, as well as new songs.[122][123] O'Riordan commented that playing with Fergal Lawler, Noel and Mike Hogan worked better dynamically with her voice.[124] On 9 June 2010, the Cranberries performed at the Special Olympics opening ceremony at Thomond Park in Limerick; it was the first time the band had performed in their native city in over 15 years.[125] On 1 July 2011, a concert entitled "TU Warszawa" / "Here, Warsaw" was the main event of the inauguration of Poland's presidency of the EU council. O'Riordan performed "Zombie" and "I Lied" with the Sinfonia Varsovia Orchestra, in Warsaw, Poland. "I Lied" is the English version of the Polish song "Skłamałam".[126][127] At this point in her career, O'Riordan began to be managed by Danny Goldberg, former Kurt Cobain and Nirvana manager. Goldberg has also managed Sonic Youth and Courtney Love's band Hole.[128][129][130] The Cranberries played two concerts in Beijing and Shanghai in July 2011 as part of their Asian tour. AsiaOne stated that The Cranberries, especially O'Riordan's voice and singing style, have influenced some Chinese musicians and have had a lasting impact across Asia.[131][132] The BBC commented that O'Riordan was a major musical influence to Faye Wong, one of China's biggest pop stars.[133] O'Riordan stated that the band had started work on some new songs during 2003 before starting the hiatus, until they recorded 15 songs during the Toronto sessions.[134] On 25 November 2011, O'Rirodan's father died at his home in Limerick after six years of fighting cancer. According to O'Riordan, he held on to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary on 14 November.[16]

During the six years of their hiatus, O'Riordan and Noel Hogan occasionally shared ideas. During their reunion tour, the group started working on new songs during the soundchecks.[135] In 2011, they recorded their sixth album, Roses with longtime producer Stephen Street, released in February 2012. Although it failed to match the commercial success of her debut and received mixed reviews from critics, it was well received by the public.[136] She suffered from a vocal cord nodule around 2010-2012, which doctors found in 2010 and had led her to six weeks of inability to perform; consequently, concert dates were cancelled or postponed.[137][138][139] O'Riordan and her band performed two songs at the 62nd Sanremo Song Festival at the Ariston Theatre on 18 February 2012 in Sanremo, Italy, having been invited more than once to the festival.[140]

The Cranberries began their Roses World Tour on 15 March 2012 at Trusts Stadium in Auckland, two days before starting their Australian tour with Lenny Kratvitz.[141][113] For their next tour, O'Riordan hired a new backup singer, Johanna Cranitch. During anterior tours, backup vocals were performed by the band's backup guitarist, Steve DeMarchi.[142][143] On 22 March 2012, The Cranberries cancelled nine minutes before the show at the Enmore Theatre in Sydney, O'Riordan suffered from food poisoning and was unable to perform. When she recovered, the Roses Tour resumed two days later and the cancelled show was rescheduled for 26 March.[144] In May 2012, three dates of The Cranberries tour of the U.S., had to be postponed for a then undisclosed reason, which was later said to involve from O'Riordan's "hectic touring schedule"; this caused some uncertainty about the upcoming European leg of the tour.[145] For a reason The Cranberries wished to keep private, the band’s management company confirmed the cancellation or postponement of the entire upcoming European first leg of the tour which was to take place from June to July.[146] The extent to which her father's death was now affecting O'Riordan was made public when she stated in Télégramme: "the last months of my father's life have been very taxing. Today is better, I can look at his photo again. Now I understand that I should live without him".[147] On November 2012, she admitted that she was unable to perform "Ode To My Family" throughout the 32 shows of the second leg of the European tour, she said: "I can’t sing it anymore. I hope to be able to sing it back one day, but for now, it’s too soon".[147] O'Riordan and The Cranberries allowed their songs "Dreams", "Empty" along with "Apple Of My Eye" and "Stupid", to feature in a film called South Dakota, released in the US in October 2013.[119]

In July 2013, Dolores O'Riordan, with her husband Don Burton and their three children went to live in Ireland, in the exclusive area of Abington, in the north of Dublin, and they eventually developed the idea of buying a house.[148][149] The family moved back to Canada in November 2013, considering they were used to the outdoors and the wilderness.[148] In mid-December, O'Riordan returned to Ireland to replace Sharon Corr as one of the mentors on RTÉ's The Voice of Ireland during the 2013–14 season.[150][151]

In the autumn of 2013, as her hometown of Limerick was preparing to start its tenure as Irish City of Culture in 2014, O'Riordan was approached by the city to play a special gig.[152] During a New Year's Eve party under the Spire of St Mary's Cathedral, she performed with a quartet from the Irish Chamber Orchestra, playing "Linger", "Zombie" and one solo, "The Journey".[153] On October 2013, O'Riordan and Marco Mendoza reconvened their partnership and decided to work on the songs for her announced third solo album scheduled for 2014, and presumably some film possibilities.[154]

O'Riordan's mental health, by her own later admission, was withering alarmingly, in 2013 she attempted suicide by overdosing on medication, but "wanted to live for her kids".[155][156] Her final performance at the Vatican's Christmas Concert (Concerto di Natale) came in December 2013. She performed four songs : "Letting Go" from Are You Listening?, "Silent Night" in duet with Elisa Toffoli, "Away In A Manger" and "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)".[157][158]

In mid-January 2014, between shoots for The Voice she composed 15 songs for a new solo album.[159]

Her family described Dolores as "strong-minded and determined",[160] however, discussing her mental instability in a 2014 interview with the Belfast Telegraph, O'Riordan explained that she suffered from a "terrible self-loathing".[161][155] On 10 November 2014, O'Riordan was arrested and charged in connection with air rage on an Aer Lingus flight from JFK to Shannon airport.[161] During the flight, she grew verbally and physically abusive to the crew. When police were arresting her, she resisted, reminding them that her taxes paid their wages and shouting "I'm the Queen of Limerick! I'm an icon!", headbutting one Garda officer and spitting at another.[162] Later she told the media that she had been stressed from living in New York hotels following the end of her 20-year marriage.[163] She allegedly fractured the air hostess’ foot during the incident and had been medically assessed at University Hospital, escorted by Shannon Police.[164] Eileen O'Riordan stated that her daughter was in a fragile mental state and that medical results indicated there was no alcohol or drugs detected in her daughter's system.[165] The judge hearing her case agreed to dismiss all charges if she apologised in writing to her victims and contributed €6,000 to the court poor box.[162]

O'Riordan and her husband Burton ended their relationship in late 2014 after 20 years together.[166] They later divorced.[167] Following her split from husband, O'Riordan suffered from serious depression in 2014 and her mental health issues were compounded by alcohol use.[155]

O'Riordan began recording new material with Jetlag, a collaboration between Andy Rourke of The Smiths and New York producer and DJ, Olé Koretsky, in April 2014. They then formed a trio under the name D.A.R.K. Their first album, Science Agrees, was released in September 2016.[168][169]

On 26 May 2016, The Cranberries announced the onset of a Summer Tour 2016 in Europe. The first show was held on June 3.[170] The Cranberries made three consecutive dates in Cancún, Mexico, in February 2017. In late April 2017, celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band, they released a new studio album Something Else, featuring of acoustic versions of their greatest hits, and backed by the Irish Chamber Orchestra. Three new songs appear on this album: "The Glory," "Rupture," and "Why".[171] The album was well received by critics; reviewers have praised "the return of one of Ireland’s finest songsmiths", and reacted favourably to the orchestral and acoustic reimagining.[172][173][171] Music critic Karen Gwee has described O'Riordan's voice "more measured, more liable and rich with maturity", whilst "the thinness of her voice dilutes the anxious energy of "Animal Instinct", one of the album's tracks".[174] In May 2017, the band started the world tour as acoustic concerts, with a string quartet. Most of the time, Dolores O'Riordan sang seated on a stool, experiencing pain in the upper part of her spine and diaphragm pain during singing. After eleven shows, O'Riordan said to be in "excruciating pain". The Cranberries published on social media the cancellation of the sold-out tour in Europe and North America.[175] The band stated that Dolores' back problem was in the mid to upper area of her spine and diaphragmatic movements associated with breathing and singing exacerbate pain.[176]

In May 2017, she publicly discussed her bipolar disorder, which she said had been diagnosed in 2015.[177] In late 2017, O'Riordan said she was recovering and performed at a private event.[178][179] During her rest, Dolores O'Riordan had been planning a new album of The Cranberries, and had written and recorded demo versions in her final years.[180]

In September 2017, O'Riordan began composing a suicide note while drinking heavily and taking Lorazepam.[181] Dolores O'Riordan's last public performance was on 14 December 2017 in New York, she sang three songs of The Cranberries at Billboard magazine's Christmas party.[182][183] On 15 December 2017, Eminem released his album Revival which included a large sample from the song "Zombie" as the hook for his rap song "In Your Head".[184] Her final social media post, looking to the future, occurred on 3 January 2018.[181] O'Riordan remained in the band until her death.[185]

O'Riordan's deeply religious mother had a strong influence on her.[188] She was influenced by Gregorian chant at an early age,[189][190] which remained her main influence until the end of her life. Months before she died, O'Riordan tested the resonance and the acoustics of the Glenstal Abbey church in Ireland to sing there.[191] O'Riordan stated that this apprenticeship by this detachment of the world in a raw and devoted setting influenced a lot of her development as an artist and as a musician.[192][193] In her teenage years, Dolores O'Riordan spent much of her time with her brothers who listened to heavy metal music,[194] while being equally passionate about rock and Gaelic folk music,[195][196] she became an indie rock singer aged eighteen when she joined The Cranberries. Then, she immersed herself in Ireland's music scene.[197]

O'Riordan said that from childhood she had been influenced by The Smiths,[198] The Cure,[199] R.E.M.,[200] The Kinks,[201] Depeche Mode,[202] Magazine,[203] Siouxsie and the Banshees[204] and New Order.[205][24]

She credited Johnny McEvoy's song "The Old Bog Road" as one of the most beautiful old Irish songs and praised The Pogues' songs.[206] She made a reference to Ireland's most famous poet, William Butler Yeats, by quoting from one of his poems in her song about his grave.[207] O'Riordan stated the grunge decade was "so creatively it was a really great time", mentioning Pearl Jam, Blind Melon, Nirvana.[208] She wrote the song "I'm Still Remembering" six months after the death of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain.[209][210][211] In 2009, talking about her three favourite albums, O'Riordan mentioned The Smiths - The Smiths (album), Depeche Mode - Violator, the original soundtrack of the film The Mission.[212] O'Riordan quoted Morrissey, Led Zeppelin,[213] also Metallica and James Hetfield whom she met in 1995.[214][215][216][217] She drew her influences from everyday life, events that occurred in the world or her friendly and romantic relationships.[218]

Dave Fanning commented in The New York Times:

"Dolores O'Riordan found a place between grunge and Britpop that catapulted the band to international stardom."[219]

O'Riordan wrote her first song called "Calling" at the age of 12 years old.[221] She was the lead lyricist and co-composer of the band's songs with guitarist Noel Hogan, although she wrote lot of the song structures.[222][223] In the early days of The Cranberries, Hogan gave her a sequence of chords he had composed; a week later she came back with lyrics of "Linger" and wrote "Sunday" shortly after.[224][225] O'Riordan described in 1993 that she chose to be a singer and songwriter for the creative aspect, "something new", saying that she would not have been happy singing traditional Irish music for a living.[226] O'Riordan had a preference for solitude as an approach to writing songs.[227]

O'Riordan playing her Gibson ES-335 electric guitar, Montreal, in 2009.[228]

O'Riordan tended to write her ideas continuously through the day, although most of the melodies came in the night since she struggled with insomnia;[229] and so, she had a history of sleeping pills dependence in the course of her career.[230] She experienced writer's block during months at a period of her life.[229]

I draw from a lot of different life experiences: births, deaths, war, pain, depression, anger, sadness. [ ... ] I found it very easy to write lyrics when I was younger because I had no inhibitions – they just came pouring out. I find as I get older it’s more difficult: you develop fears and you go, ‘What will people think of this?’ But it’s important not to think too much about what people will think, because then you’ll never write!

— Dolores O'Riordan, speaking of song themes in How I Wrote...: Songwriting Magazine.[231]

O'Riordan noted in Ultimate Guitar on her writing process, "lyrics are very important for me to make sure that I'm portraying whatever it is I need to portray. So I sit there but the funny thing is they've come to me anywhere [ ... ] 'Oh, I have to go get a pen quick'. In the middle of the night when you're trying to go to sleep and they're going around in your head, your words, and you just get up and go out and write them down".[137] O'Riordan was easily bored and couldn't rest for a week,[232] Hogan described O'Riordan's routine working on her songs late at night or overnight: "her emails were like text messages. Fifteen of them, but they’re all, like, two lines, at two o’clock in the morning."[233] O'Riordan wrote songs about themes that have evolved over the course of her career, her experience taught her to never feel inhibited and always make an effort to try other things artistically.[234][235] O'Riordan stated in The Independent that she wrote about what is getting to her at the time, she said that writing lyrics was, "about the things you need to talk about, I write to get my emotions out. It's self-therapeutic".[236]

In the National Post, music producer Dan Brodbeck commented that the first day at the studio after being hired, she played him a few chords and a piano medley, then left him alone with little guidance.[237] O'Riordan came back a few hours later and accredited his work, then she took a microphone and started singing lyrics off the top of her head; Brodbeck stated : "it was always spur-of-the-moment, gut reaction stuff".[237] Even though she no longer had a financial obligation to work, O'Riordan is quoted as someone with an insatiable appetite for music, who knew what she wanted in a song and how to deliver a text.[237]

O'Riordan was a mezzo-soprano, with a vocal range from B2 to C6. She did not sing much in the 5th octave but rather in an area where she was most comfortable singing in.[238][240][241][242] Familiar to the 90s alt-rock belt, but always devoted to her love of falsetto,[238][243][244][245] her voice was rather light without applying an uncomfortable weight and she characteristically deployed a soft projection when she sang the lowest notes.[238][246][247] Her signature singing style integrated a wide range of elements such as the lilting voice,[248] the Celtic folklore whose mournful keening,[249] the glottal ornamentation and the distinctive attack on syllables.[250] Mikael Wood of Los Angeles Times commented, "She had a high, airy tone that could turn ferocious without warning. She emphasized its breaks and curls, decorating the catchy melodies she wrote with florid vocal runs inherited from Celtic tradition."[251] She was also renowned for her yodeling techniques, embracing the sharp break of her voice.[252][253][254][255] She had never compromised her strong Irish accent even when she was criticized for that,[256][257] the University of Limerick (UL) wrote about O'Riordan's voice, "Dolores’s voice carried strong traces of the Sean Nós (old style) Gaelic tradition of unaccompanied singing that so beautifully conveys sadness, regret and loneliness."[258] Singer from the age of 5, around the age of 40 the timbre of her voice changed and became more mature, in 2012 she mentioned the stressful uses of the voice and aging process itself.[137][259] Melody Maker described ORiordan's voice as “the voice of a saint trapped in a glass harp”,[260] whilst her longtime friend and former manager, record executive Dan Waite described O'Riordan in 2018 as "the strongest female voice in Rock for the past three decades".[261] Ireland's Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said O’Riordan was "the voice of a generation”.[262][263][264]

Dan Weiss of Stereogum praised O'Riordan's vocal ability highly, commenting: "she knew she could multiply her phrases in harmony and clever aural sculpting, which turned relatively simple and round chord progressions like “Ode To My Family” into complex waterfalls of vocalization, and yet the jangling folk guitars buffering them were clearly armored by capital-R rock".[265]

Dolores O'Riordan performing with The Cranberries, in 2010

Noel Hogan described how O'Riordan tended to "layer a lot of harmonies, a lot of falsetto stuff" as soon as she first entered the recording studio, Xeric Studios, at the beginning of 1990. O'Riordan used a Neumann U87 microphone for her vocal tracks, and especially during the recording of the debut studio album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?. In an interview with Sound On Sound, in March 2019, Hogan and record producer Stephen Street described that "spontaneity was the key"; Hogan said : "she would like to do maybe three or four takes". Regarding backing vocals she would go through very quickly, he said: "cause she had an amazing ear for tuning", then she ended with her highest notes. She would add additional layers of vocal inflections over the existing main vocals as she went along.[266] In South China Morning Post, Hogan described O'Riordan's voice during the recording of "Linger":

We’re all looking at each in the room going, ‘where did that come out from?’ because she was so small and tiny – you didn’t expect that. And then she only grew from that point on. As the years went down, she just got better and better."[267]

O'Riordan was recognised for her raw natural voice,[268][269] Hogan corroborated this on Officialcharts, he stated: "we weren't going to start using Auto-Tune and all that shite. She would absolutely kill us", speaking of the building of The Cranberries' latest album, In The End, created from demo voices recorded by O'Riordan before her death.[270] The voice recording protocol had evolved over the years, O'Riordan was worried about "oversinging and smothering the raw emotion in her delivery", as a result, she did not come to work in studios during daylight hours with Fergal Lawler and the two Hogan brothers.[233][232] Lawler told David Browne in a 2019 Rolling Stone interview: "Dolores would come in to do the vocals and we’d have a chat. She’d have a listen to what we’d done and then we’d head off and let her do her thing. So in the evening time, you’re almost looking out in the corridor to see if she’s coming in."[232]

On 21 January 2018, O'Riordan's funeral opened three days of mourning in Ireland.[308] Funeral plans included a service reserved for extended family and close friends.[309] A three-day funeral in her hometown, with O'Riordan lying in repose, lasted from 20 to 22 January at St Joseph's Church. In a tribute normally reserved for Presidents, heads of State and Popes, thousands streamed past her open coffin, in a four-hour public reposing, inside St Joseph's Church in the city.[310] O'Riordan, wearing dark eyeshadow, with raven hair, was laid out in an open coffin wearing black and holding a set of pearl rosary beads.[311] O'Riordan's songs were played, while photographs of the singer performing and one of her with Pope John Paul II were placed along the walls.[312][313][314] Friends left a floral tribute next to the coffin, which read: "The song has ended, but the memories linger on".[315]

She was buried on 23 January after a service at Saint Ailbe's Roman Catholic Church, Ballybricken, County Limerick; it began with the studio recording of "Ave Maria" as sung by O'Riordan and Luciano Pavarotti. At the end of the service the Cranberries' song "When You're Gone" was played. Among the attendees at her funeral were her mother, Eileen; her three children and their father,[316] O'Riordan's former husband, Don Burton; her sister and brothers; all Cranberries members; former rugby union player Ronan O'Gara;[317] Bono's wife Ali Hewson; and O'Riordan's boyfriend Olé Koretsky.[318] O'Riordan was buried alongside her father.[319]

The President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, was one of the first to pay his respects.[320] The Taoiseach of Ireland, Leo Varadkar, also paid his respects to O'Riordan.[321] Polish President Andrzej Duda paid his respects as well.[322] Also, as a tribute, the Avett Brothers covered the Cranberries song "Linger".[323] Bono and Johnny Depp performed a tribute for O'Riordan ending the performance on "Linger", at the National Concert Hall in Dublin, Ireland, just hours after the sudden death of O'Riordan. Bono, Sinead O'Connor, Johnny Depp and Nick Cave gave to Dolores O'Riordan a standing ovation at a birthday party for Shane MacGowan, singer of The Pogues.[324]

On the announcement of her death on 15 January 2018, O'Riordan appeared on the huge 360° screen overhanging the Madison Square Garden floor in New York during a New York Rangers game. A photo of this appearance was published on 17 January 2018 on Facebook by Madison Square Garden.[325]

Olé Koretsky made a statement.[326] Also Andy Rourke, bassist of The Smiths, producer Stephen Street, U2, Duran Duran, Liz Phair, James Corden, Hozier, Foster the People, Pearl Jam, Elijah Wood, Bryan Adams, Halsey, Kodaline, The The, Michael Stipe of R.E.M. Dave Davies of The Kinks, Garbage, Adele, Dan Brodbeck, Slash, Graham Hopkins, drummer of Therapy? and many other artists expressed their sadness.[327][328][329][330][331][332][333]

On the night of her death, 15 January 2018 O'Riordan left a voice message to her friend, Managing Director of E7LG-Europe, Dan Waite, where she offered to sing on a cover of "Zombie" that Waite had previously given O'Riordan to listen to and accredit. TMZ published this voice message on 5 April 2018.[334] On 18 January, the heavy metal band Bad Wolves released this cover of "Zombie" (originally by The Cranberries), which charted on multiple Billboard charts.[335][336]

On 28 January, a children's choir from New York City sang the Cranberries song "Dreams" in O'Riordan's memory.[337]

On 29 March 2018, Mayor Stephen Keary presented the book of condolences with over 16,000 signatures to Dolores' mother Eileen, brothers Donal, Terry and Joe and other family members.[338]

The "In Memoriam" segment of the 2018 Grammy Awards included tributes to a number of music icons as O'Riordan.[339] "Dreams" was played in Croke Park to the capacity 82,000 crowd on 19 August, after Limerick won the Liam MacCarthy Cup in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship for the first time in 45 years. The cup was later toured around Limerick and was brought by the team to O'Riordan's family home in Ballybricken.[340] Saint Sister, a duo from Northern Ireland, performed an a cappella rendition of the song "Dreams" by The Cranberries at Lyra McKee's funeral in Belfast,[341] who was murdered by the Real IRA in April 2019.[342]

After her death, bandmate Noel Hogan confirmed that The Cranberries band name would be retired after the release of their 2019 album.[343] He stated: "We don't want to continue without Dolores, so we're just going to leave after this".[344]