Many tributes have been paid to The Cranberries singer Dolores O’Riordan since her untimely death last year. This week, the University of Limerick is set to confer a posthumous honorary doctorates on its hometown rock icon, and a ‘Piano for Dolores’ event at Ormston House saw fans descend upon the singer’s hometown to share their memories of the hugely talented singer.

However, it is O’Riordan’s bandmates who have paid the ultimate tribute.

This week, The Cranberries released details of their new – and final – record. In the End is made up of 11 previously unheard tracks by the singer: O’Riordan had recorded the demos for these songs in 2017 and planned to complete them the following year. Sadly, though, this was not to be the case. O’Riordan was found dead in the bath of her hotel room in London on 15 January 2018. An inquest later ruled her death was caused by drowning due to excessive alcohol consumption.

Shaken by the news, her fellow musicians – guitarist Noel Hogan, drummer Fergal Lawler and bassist Mike Hogan – took time out, putting all of their plans on hold so that they might think about the best way to honour their friend and bandmate.

Now, in a new statement released, they have informed their fans: “This was a very painful process [but we] realised that the most meaningful thing to do was to finish the album we had started with her.

“We felt this is what she would want.”

With the support of O’Riordan’s family, The Cranberries finished the record with the late singer’s vocals, and the lead single All Over Now has been released this week to coincide with the anniversary of Dolores’ passing.

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