Dolores O'Riordan's Real Name: Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan

Quick answer: Dolores O'Riordan's full name was Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan. She was born on September 6, 1971, and grew up in Ballybricken, County Limerick, Ireland. As lead singer and songwriter of the Cranberries she sang "Linger" and "Zombie." Her married name was Dolores O'Riordan Burton. She died in London on January 15, 2018, at age 46 (Library of Congress; The Guardian; NPR).

Real name and early life

The obituary in The Independent closes with her full name and dates: "Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan, singer and songwriter, born 6 September 1971, died 15 January 2018." The Library of Congress name authority files her as "O'Riordan, Dolores," with the variants "Burton, Dolores Mary O'Riordan" and "O'Riordan Burton, Dolores Mary." It cites an obituary noting her 1994 marriage to Don Burton and their 2014 divorce.

The Guardian says she was the youngest of nine children, two of whom died in infancy. Her father, Terence, was a former farm laborer unable to work after an accident, and her mother, Eileen, was a school caterer. Eileen is also one of Dolores's middle names. She attended Laurel Hill, a Catholic school in Limerick, and played organ in church. The Guardian adds that nearly 20 years after her fame began, she revealed she had been abused as a child.

Career highlights

NPR says she was 18 when she auditioned for a Limerick band called the Cranberry Saw Us, founded by Noel and Mike Hogan and Fergal Lawler. The Guardian says she won the job by playing an early version of her song "Linger." She was 21 when "Linger" reached the U.S. top 10. Their debut album, Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We?, topped the British chart. The 1994 follow-up, No Need to Argue, sold 17 million copies. "Zombie," written in response to the 1993 IRA bombing in Warrington, was everywhere on MTV.

After the Cranberries split in 2003, she released the solo albums Are You Listening? (2007) and No Baggage (2009). She also worked with Andy Rourke in DARK and judged the Irish edition of The Voice. The Guardian reports that she was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and spoke openly about her mental health.

She died in a London hotel, where she had come to record a new version of "Zombie" with the band Bad Wolves. In September 2018 an inquest found that she drowned accidentally in the bath while intoxicated with alcohol (BBC).

Name notes for searchers

Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan is her full birth name. LOC records her married forms as Burton and O'Riordan Burton. She performed as Dolores O'Riordan throughout her career.