Thousands of fans queued up in the rain on Sunday to say their last farewells to Irish singer Dolores O’Riordan.
The late The Cranberries singer lay in an open coffin in her native Limerick’s St Joseph’s Church, where devotees and friends paid their respects six days after the 46-year-old died in London.
O’Riordan’s songs played quietly as fans filed in to the church, with 50 of the singer’s former classmates at Laurel Hill Colaiste placing bouquets of yellow flowers on a pew near her coffin.
Her bandmates laid a floral tribute referencing The Cranberries’ break-out hit Linger beside her coffin. It read: “The song has ended, but the memories linger on.”
The church was also adorned with photos of the singer – two featured devoutly religious Dolores meeting Pope John Paul II.
“We come to offer a heartfelt greeting to a deeply loved and cherished daughter of Limerick,” Bishop of Limerick Brendan Leahy told mourners. “As we file past her coffin, let’s pray for her, her family and those she loved and helped in life.
“I am conscious that, while millions across the world have been shocked by the sad news of her death, today is about Limerick’s public moment to bid farewell.”
The star’s mother Eileen and family members spent an hour meeting fans and thanked them for their support, and shortly after they left the church, O’Riordan’s coffin was removed by her bandmates as remaining fans applauded the late singer.
The star’s funeral will take place at St Ailbes’ Church in Ballybricken, Ireland on Tuesday morning. Sources tell the Irish Times she will be buried next to her father Terence, who died in 2011.
An inquest into O’Riordan’s death has been adjourned until the beginning of April (18), while the coroner awaits test results. Police officials in London are not treating her sudden death as suspicious.
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