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It seems only appropriate that one of the fiercest protesters against the abuses of the Catholic Church in Ireland would make her voice heard from beyond. Only a few months after her death at 56, Sinead O’Connor’s unreleased “The Magdalene Song” premiered on the series finale of the six-part BBC mystery dramaThe Woman in the Wall.
The series, which aired its finale on Sep 25, starred Ruth Wilson as a woman who suffers from trauma that stretches back to her time spent in Ireland’s controversial Magdalene Laundries,church-run homes for unmarried pregnant girls and women. In the emotional finale, O’Connor’s vocals celebrate the victims’ determination to survive.
“The first half of the track is completely heartbreaking, and the second half is pure defiance,” Belfast musician David Holmes toldThe Guardian. Holmes produced O’Connor’s music in her final years.
“I stripped the song away to just Sinéad’s voice and then let the full power come in for the second half,” he continued. “It’s incredible how the meaning of the song came together with this story It was just meant to be. There’s a certain magic when you bring music to an emotive story.”
According to Holmes, O’Connor sanctioned the track for use before production had started on the show. “When the producers heard it they were amazed to have something so strong. We all felt the only place this can go is at the end,” said Holmes.
When O’Connor was 15, she was sent to an institution not unlike the one depicted in the series, and she had often spoken out about the sympathy she felt for women who had been oppressed by the church.
“In the lyrics Sinéad was trying to say, I think, that though she’d been through great turmoil, it would not stop her being who she wanted to be,” said Holmes. “She never really spoke about the meaning of her songs. She used to joke that she would often tell people that her songs were about something completely different to what they were about. But this one – well, it’s called The Magdalene Song.”
Holmes and O’Connor had been working on thesinger’s new albumbefore her passing. The album was one record away from completion.When or whether the music will be released is not yet known. Holmes said he last spoke with O’Connor around the time she posted about the record on Facebook, not long before she died. “She was excited about it and excited to get it finished,” he says. But at this point, he isn’t sure what will come of the work: “This is up to her family and estate, and I will gladly do as I’m told,” he says. O’Connor’s management has not yet determined when and how the music will be unveiled.
O’Connor died on July 26, after being found unresponsive in her home. Her untimely death had several of her peers, likeGarbage frontwoman Shirley Manson,Miley Cyrus,andPhoebe Bridgers, reflect on the legacy of the singer and her influence on their careers.
The final episode of The Woman In the Wall can be seen on BBC iPlayerhere.
