The Undertones lead singer Paul McLoone has remembered Sinéad O’Connor as a "wonderfully warm person".
Speaking to Breakfast this morning, McLoone said he and O'Connor crossed paths a number of times over the years.
"She [was] very funny, tremendous intelligence, a great integrity to her, and just a very warm likeable fun person.
"She wore her heart on her sleeve and that was really Sinéad's thing, people say that, but she really did and what you got was what you got.
"I guess every time our paths crossed, I just found her a wonderful human being."
McLoone praised O’Connor as one of the greatest artists Ireland has produced.
He said she had a "troubled" upbringing, and issues with her parents that were documented in her latest autobiography.
"Like a lot of young people she came into the music thing very young and very talented in Dublin."
He said right from the beginning O’Connor called the shots and didn't let anyone else tell her what to do.
"She very much blazed her own path, and with incredible strength that I think is part of what defined her, an absolute courage, a fearlessness coupled with a certain fragility as well."
McLoone said she was "massively, massively" talented and will be greatly missed.
"This is a very, very sad day for music in Ireland and around the world."
* Nothing Compares, a 2022 documentary charting the story of Sinéad O'Connor's rise to fame, is available on TVNZ+
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