From rural Ireland to rock legend: The life of a generation-defining voice

When she was seven, a family accident left their home destroyed by fire, but the close-knit rural community came together to raise funds for a new house.

In a 2001 interview with the Sunday Independent, the artist revealed that she was “anti anything that was girlie” until she was 17. She also had to grow up faster than other children, describing a strict daily routine throughout her teenage years that revolved around piano lessons, church, and homework.

At the same time, her wild side was always present — the part of her that would later help her perform on stage in front of millions, completely at ease and enjoying being herself, doing what she loved most. According to her school friend Catherina Egan, she was “boisterous, wild, but lovely”

But it wasn’t immediately obvious that this Irish woman, despite her raw talent, would one day become a global music sensation. Her mother, whom she “adored,” encouraged her to either become a nun or earn a college degree and become a music teacher. Her priest suggested she go to Iceland.

But she followed her own path, running away from home at 18 and spending a few years living with her boyfriend.

”At 18 I left home because I wanted to sing. My parents wanted me to go to college and things like that. I was really poor for a year-and-a-half; I remember actually being hungry, like I’d die for a bag of chips. That’s when I joined the Cranberries,” she said.