How did Russell Crowe honor Sinead O’Connor’s legacy? ‘A Beautiful Mind’ star says he was starstruck by the singer during chance encounter

DUBLIN, IRELAND: Russell Crowe paid a touching tribute to Irish singer Sinead O’Connor who died on July 26 at the age of 56. The actor shared a series of tweets in which he recalled a rare and profound conversation with the singer in Ireland last year.

Crowe said he was working in Ireland and having a pint with some new friends outside a pub in Dalkey when one of them recognized O’Connor and invited him to meet her. He said he was starstruck by the singer who greeted him with a soft “oh, it’s you Russell.”

How did Russell Crowe honor Sinead O’Connor’s legacy?

The four of them then had a cup of tea and talked about various topics, such as politics, music, movies, and indigenous recognition. Crowe said he told O’Connor that she was one of his heroes and that he was impressed by her courage and wisdom. He said the encounter ended with a hug and that they all agreed that O’Connor was an amazing woman. He wished peace for her courageous heart and honored her legacy as a singer, songwriter, and activist, reported People.

Here is the full text from tweets Crowe shared: "Last year, working in Ireland, having a pint in the cold outside a Dalkey pub with some new friends, a woman with purpose strode past us," the 'Beautiful Mind' star began. He wrote, " Puffy parker zipped to the nape and her bowed head covered in a scarf. One of my new friends muttered an exclamation, jumped up and pursued the woman. Thirty metres down the road the friend and the woman embraced and he waived me over. There under streetlights with mist on my breath, I met Sinead. She looked in my eyes, and uttered with disarming softness “ oh, it’s you Russell”.

'I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine'

The 'Gladiator' star continued, "She came with us back to the table and sat in the cold and ordered a hot tea. In a conversation without fences we roamed through the recent Dublin heatwave, local politics, American politics, the ongoing fight for indigenous recognition in many places, but particularly in Australia, her warm memory of New Zealand, faith, music, movies and her brother the writer." He said, "I had the opportunity to tell her she was a hero of mine. When her second cup was taking on the night air, she rose, embraced us all and strode away into the fog-dimmed streetlights. We sat there the four of us and variously expressed the same thing. What an amazing woman. Peace be with your courageous heart Sinead.

The unapologetic and controversial O’Connor ripped Pope John Paul II's photo on live TV

O’Connor was best known for her hit song 'Nothing Compares 2 U', which was written by Prince and released in 1990. She also had a controversial career, often clashing with the media and the Catholic Church when she ripped off a photo of Pope John Paul II live on 'Sunday Night Live' over sexual assault allegations in the Catholic Church in 1992. She had taken the photo from her mother's wall after she died in a car accident. This marked the downfall of her illustrious career she was heavily criticized, but, she was never sorry for it. “I’m not sorry I did it. It was brilliant,” O’Connor said in an interview with the New York Times. “But it was very traumatizing,” she added. “It was open season on treating me like a crazy bitch.”

Sinéad O’Connor was found unresponsive at her London home

O'Connor had a traumatic childhood where her mother was physically abusive to her. She was once arrested for shoplifting and sent to reform schools. The childhood trauma affected her entire life as she suffered from bipolar disorder ripping a "hole in her back." She was devastated by her son Shanes's death by suicide last year, she considered her only true love, he was just 17. O'Connor who had changed her religion to Islam several years ago had adopted Shuhada Sadaqat as her name. O'Connor was found "unresponsive" at her Herne Hill, south London home. Police as per BBC said she was "pronounced dead at the scene." The death is not being treated as suspicious. London Inner South Coroner's Court has not given her cause of death but determined that it will conduct an autopsy and results of which could take "several weeks." The decision on whether an inquest will be needed will be decided when they are known.