Sinead O’Connor announced on Boxing Day that her fourth marriage to youth counselor Barry Herridge had ended after just 16 days.
Sinead O’Connor, 45, revealed on her website that the marriage was in trouble just three hours after the Las Vegas ceremony, when people close to Barry Herridge, 38, tried to “kybosh” it.
Despite the brevity of the union, it could take years for the marriage to be legally dissolved, with Irish law requiring a four-year separation.
Sinéad O’Connor posted a statement on her personal website stating that she had decided to end the marriage on Christmas Eve after just seven days of domesticity.
The Irish singer wrote: “There was intense pressure placed upon him by certain people in his life, not to be involved with me. These were people who had never met me but had formed opinions of me based on what they read about <<Sinéad O’Connor>> in the media, etc.”
Sinead O’Connor announced on Boxing Day that her fourth marriage to youth counselor Barry Herridge had ended after just 16 days
Sinead O’Connor admitted that her husband had also been very upset by a “wild ride” they took to try and buy mar**uana on their wedding night, as she doesn’t drink alcohol.
“My husband was enormously wounded and very badly affected by that experience and also by the attitude of those close to him toward our marriage,” the singer said.
Sinead O’Connor’s and Barry Herridge flew out to Las Vegas on her 45th birthday and married that day.
The Little White Wedding chapel confirmed that the marriage certificate the couple signed was a legally binding contract.
According to a staff member, both Sinead O’Connor and Barry Herridge were made aware of the implications of the ceremony before they tied the knot. And a spokeswoman from the Las Vegas church confirmed that the couple would have to take legal action to dissolve the wedding.
The spokeswoman said: “All of our ceremonies are legally binding. Occasionally, we do get couples who renew their vows. But they are the only two types of service that we do. We can’t comment on any individual weddings but all the processes are legally binding. They are made aware of that when they decide to marry with us.”
Marianna Fritz, a consultant with Irish Divorce Services, said the couple would be forced to wait at least four years before applying to terminate the marital contract.
“It doesn’t matter whether you get married in Las Vegas, Australia or Ireland – the procedure is the same,” said Marianna Fritz.
“First, they must be separated for four years and only then can they apply to have the marriage dissolved and, at that point, it is relatively straightforward.”
Alternatively, Sinead O’Connor and Barry Herridge could apply to have the marriage annulled – that is, to have it declared legally void, as if it had never happened. But according to Marianna Fritz this is an extremely difficult and costly procedure.
“They are entitled to apply, but with an annulment, you must use solicitors which is an extremely costly avenue. It is also very difficult, as there are only three, maybe four conditions that a court will accept. If either party is intoxicated or under the influence of any substances. Or if they can prove that they aren’t in a sane state of mind. Or if one of the parties is homosexual.
“Basically, once the couple have consummated the marriage it is not easy to have it annulled,” she said.
Two days ago, the eccentric Irish singer Sinead O’Connor announced she would wed her unknown boyfriend of three months in a ceremony on Thursday.
Sinead O’Connor tied the knot for the fourth time in a quickie Las Vegas wedding on her 45th birthday yesterday.
The singer walked down the aisle with Irish therapist Barry Herridge, who she met online, at the famous Little White Wedding Chapel in Nevada’s Sin City.
The wedding ceremony lasted just 15 minutes and the couple invited no guests – even Sinead O’Connor’s four children – apart from the cameramen.
Sinead O’Connor dressed unusually girly and looked to have lost weight, looking more like her Nothing Compares 2 U heyday in the 1990s.
She wore a strapless pastel pink maxi dress and chunky pink metallic and silver heels.
Sinead O’Connor failed to conceal her numerous tattoos, including a massive design on her chest, and is still sporting her trademark shaved head.
Sinead O’Connor tied the knot for the fourth time with Irish therapist Barry Herridge in a quickie Las Vegas wedding on her 45th birthday
Barry Herridge wore a suit over a pink shirt that matched Sinead O’Connor’s dress and had a red rose in his lapel that matched her bouquet.
The couple looked smitten with one another, sharing a passionate kiss for the cameras and staring into each other’s eyes as they walked sown the isle after being pronounced husband and wife.
The newlyweds cuddled up on a pink Cadillac – reminiscent of Elvis Presley’s iconic car – before heading to a hotel in the gambling capital of America.
Sinead O’Connor even shed a few tears as she sat with her new husband before they headed to a hotel for their wedding night.
The singer has only been dating Barry Herridge, who works as a counselor for people with addiction problems in Dublin, for three months.
Barry Herridge replied after Sinead O’Connor wrote on her blog in September that she was “sex-starved” and asked potential suitors to apply online.
“Barry sent me this wonderful email, which just took my heart away,” Sinead O’Connor told the Irish Independent before flying out from Heathrow to the U.S yesterday.
“It had to be him… I had no intention of getting married again but Barry was extremely persuasive. He proposed to me on every single date we have had since August. He is extremely persuasive – and other unprintable things.”
Sinead O’Connor and Barry Herridge met up at a coffee shop and apparently “talked for hours”.
He revealed the contents of the email to the paper.
“I was getting off a train at Connolly Station one morning when I saw this woman acting strangely on the platform,” Barry Herridge said.
“At first I didn’t know what she was doing, and then I realized she was playing hopscotch. It wasn’t Sinead but a business woman in a suit and in her 30s, just having a bit of fun.
“I wondered why more women that age weren’t doing the same thing? And it struck me that this was exactly what Sinead was doing with her search for love, having fun, and I told Sinead about this woman in my first email.”
Barry Herridge added: “I love Sinead more than anyone I have ever met, or anybody I will ever meet. I am going to look after her.”
Sinead O’Connor said she didn’t want a big ceremony.
“I’ve been married before, but I’ve never had my dream wedding in Vegas. I wanted to do it there because it’s casual, quick, not religious and, most of all, very romantic.
“People always complain, <<you never invited me to your wedding>>, but I prefer casual weddings. I’m so happy.”
The newlyweds have no time for a honeymoon as Sinead O’Connor is due back in Dublin tomorrow to attend the aftershow party for a concert marking the 50th anniversary of Amnesty International.
The Little White Chapel has been the venue for several celebrity weddings, including that between Britney Spears and childhood friend Jason Alexander in 2004.
Other notable ceremonies include the wedding of Bruce Willis and Demi Moore in 1987, that between Frank Sinatra and Mia Farrow in 1966, and Judy Garland and Mark Herron in 1965.
Sinead O’Connor announced on her blog on Wednesday she was marrying Barry Herridge in an “undisclosed location”, although reports speculated they would be walking down the aisle in Las Vegas.
The singer wrote: “With enormous joy myself and my beloved boyfriend Barry Herridge will be getting married tomorrow, December 8th 2011 at <<an un-disclosed location>> in my absolute dream wedding ceremony.
“We will post a photo or two here on the site as soon as possible afterward. Very happy girl. : )”
Sinead O’Connor also posted a picture up of the couple beaming at the camera.
She kept the happy news quiet when she appeared on the Ian Dempsey breakfast radio show on Today FM the day before, telling him she had no gossip to share.
But Barry Herridge rang back into the show on Wednesday morning to reveal all to the host about the wedding.
Ian Dempsey wrote on his Twitter page following their chat: “So Sinead O’Connor was holding back yesterday. Boyfriend Barry Herridge got back to us today to reveal that they will wed tomorrow.
“And it’s Sinead’s birthday tomorrow too. Congrats to them both. And Sinead’s new album is sounding great too.”
Sinead O’Connor shocked the nation by writing a series of candid blog posts on her website earlier this year, detailing specific requirements she was looking for in a man.
The singer wrote in September that she was in “desperate need of a very sweet sex-starved man”, but specified that they “must be no younger than 44, must not be named Brian or Nigel, must be blind enough to think I’m gorgeous, has to be employed and he has to like his mother”.
And it seems Sinead O’Connor is found her perfect partner in Barry Herridge after a whirlwind romance.
Sinead O’Connor has been married three times before – including to music producer John Reynolds, journalist Nicholas Sommerlad and most recently to Steve Cooney, who she wed in July 2010, but divorced in April this year.
Sinead O’Connor has four children from various relationships.
