Editing Sinéad O'Connor (section)

===1980s===
[[File:Sinead_O'Connor_1987.jpg|thumb|O'Connor in 1987]]
One of the volunteers at the Grianán centre was the sister of Paul Byrne, the drummer for the band [[In Tua Nua]], who heard O'Connor singing "[[Evergreen (Love Theme from A Star Is Born)|Evergreen]]" by [[Barbra Streisand]]. She recorded a song with them called "Take My Hand" but they felt that at 15, she was too young to join the band.<ref>''NME'', 29 October 1988</ref> Through an ad she placed in ''[[Hot Press]]'' in mid-1984, she met [[Colm Farrelly]]. Together they recruited a few other members and formed a band, Ton Ton Macoute.<ref name="sodifferent" /> The band moved to [[Waterford]] briefly while O'Connor attended [[Newtown School, Waterford|Newtown School]], but she soon dropped out of school and followed them to Dublin, where their performances received positive reviews. Their sound was inspired by Farrelly's interest in [[world music]], though most observers thought O'Connor's singing and stage presence were the band's strongest features.<ref name="sodifferent" /><ref>{{cite book|first=Jimmy |last=Guterman |title='Sinead: Her Life and Music |publisher=Penguin |year=1991 |isbn=978-0-140-14735-3}}</ref>{{page needed|date=August 2023}}

O'Connor's time with Ton Ton Macoute brought her to the attention of the music industry, and she was eventually signed by [[Ensign Records]]. She also acquired an experienced manager, Fachtna Ó Ceallaigh, former head of [[U2]]'s Mother Records. Soon after she was signed, she embarked on her first major assignment, providing the vocals for the song "Heroine", which she co-wrote with the U2 guitarist [[the Edge]] for the [[Captive Soundtrack|soundtrack to the film ''Captive'']]. Ó Ceallaigh, who had been fired by U2 for complaining about them in an interview, was outspoken with his views on music and politics, and O'Connor adopted the same habits; she defended the actions of the [[Provisional IRA]] and said U2's music was "bombastic".<ref name="Allmusicbio">{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sinéad-oconnor-mn0000756180/biography|title=Sinéad O'Connor – Artist Biography|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|website=AllMusic|access-date=11 June 2021|archive-date=11 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210611123915/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/sin%C3%A9ad-oconnor-mn0000756180/biography|url-status=live}}</ref> She later retracted her IRA comments saying they were based on nonsense, and that she was "too young to understand the tense situation in [[Northern Ireland]] properly".<ref name="contactmusic">{{cite magazine | title=Sinead O'Connor Takes Back Pro Ira Comments | url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/sinead-oconnor-takes-back-pro-ira-comments | magazine=Contactmusic.com | date=30 September 2005 |access-date=13 February 2013 | archive-date=3 April 2013 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130403023813/http://www.contactmusic.com/news-article/sinead-oconnor-takes-back-pro-ira-comments |url-status=live}}</ref>