Thousands of fans honor Dolores O’Riordan at open-coffin public reposing in St Joseph’s Church

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O’Riordan’s bandmates left a floral tribute to her coffin, reading: “The song has ended, but the memories linger on”

January 22, 2018

Thousands of fans attended the public reposing of Cranberries singer, Dolores O’Riordan, which took place in her native town Limerick this past Sunday. The county had announced three days of mourning for the late vocalist.

The Irish Times report that Dolores lay in an open coffin, decorated with white roses, inside St Joseph’s Church (an honor traditionally given only to “Presidents, Popes and heads of State”). The singer was wearing black and holding a set of pearl rosary beads. To say goobye to the unique voice of the generation, thousands of fans from all around the world came to the reposing.

The singer’s funeral mass will take place on Tuesday in St Aible’s Church, Ballybricken, and will be followed by a private burial in Caherelly Cemetery, where O’Riordan’s remains will rest alongside her late father Terry. “She was so lovely, so peaceful, so beautiful. She looked like a doll,” commented Co Clare grandmother May O’Connor.

Not only did fans and friends came to pay tribute to O’Riordan, there were also some Limerick’s politicians, including former minister of defence Willie O’Dea and former minister of education Jan O’Sullivan.

Many rockstar’s fans came from abroad and even as far as China. “Dolores has lots of fans in China. The most famous singers in China have similar styles (to Dolores); they learn from Dolores and they are influenced by her,” said Chinese fan, Yan.

Dolores O’Riordan’s public reposing (EastNews/AP)

During the four-hour reposing the singer’s greatest hits were played on the background in the church. According to The Irish Times, O’Riordan’s Cranberries bandmates, brothers Noel and Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawlor, left a floral tribute next to her coffin, reading: “The song has ended, but the memories linger on.”

O’Riordan, often affectionately called “Dolly” in her hometown of Limerick, was found dead at the age of 46 in her hotel room last Monday. Coroner’s results are still to be revealed, reportedly, in April. What is known for now is that the police have ruled out foul play.

In the 90-ies O’Riordan joined The Cranberries’, replacing the original vocalist, and the band’s success skyrocketed and resulted in more than 40 million sold records.