Adele Bertei has hit out at the post that producer David Holmes made about Sinead O’Connor’s final album, accusing him of “exploiting” the late singer’s memory.
The post in question relates to the update Homes shared on Instagram over the weekend, in which he marked the third anniversary of O’Connor’s death and revealed that they had been working on an album together called ‘No Veteran Dies Alone’.
Holmes worked with the singer in the final few years of her career, and uploaded photos showing “a couple of texts” he received from her “while producing what would be her final album.”
The texts saw O’Connor say that the record was “so good” and add that she wanted to “make records together until one of us croaks”. In his caption, Holmes said that he was uncertain about whether the album “will ever see the light of day”, and added that he regards it to be “a stone cold classic” and “a love letter to her children and the world.”
Now however, author, actor, filmmaker and musician Adele Bertei has accused the producer of “exploiting” O’Connor’s memory and alleged that the singer “dumped” him from working on the album after being unhappy with his production.
Taking to Instagram, the author – who penned the book Sinéad O’Connor’s Universal Mother – shared: “SINÉAD IS FURIOUS. I commune with her through the veil”.
“Go ahead,call me nuts. But I can tell you this: the undignified ‘producer’ David Holmes is exploiting her memory right now on socials and she wants you to know what’s up,” Bertei added.
She also shared that while it is “true that Holmes recorded early tracks for her last LP”, he didn’t mention that O’Connor allegedly “dumped him because she didn’t like his production”.
“Was she initially inspired working with him? Probably. She was impulsive as we all know, and loved being in the studio, and they did write together. But these texts he’s posting on socials? Shame on him. He’s exploiting her,” she continued.
“Do not be fooled, or think for a minute that Holmes is responsible for this secret LP that he presents as being egregiously withheld from the public,” Bertei also wrote, also sharing that while the album is “beyond magnificent” she has issue with “David Holmes taking all the credit”.
BREAKING NEWS: author Adele Bertei claims, on her IG, that David Holmes, the alleged producer of Sinéad’s last album, is acting in bad faith publicly. She says he’s not the one behind the project – Sinéad started the production with Holmes but eventually dumped him. 🗣🗣🗣 pic.twitter.com/RqA00Yfdas
— Sinéad O’Connor Archive (@ArchiveSinead) July 30, 2026
As for when the album could ever get an official release, Bertei shared that it could be shared by O’Connor’s “most anointed of all shepherds” but only “when the timing is right”.
NME has reached out to a spokesperson for Holmes for comment.
O’Connor died in July 2023 at the age of 56. Since her death, she has continued to be celebrated as one of Ireland’s most influential artists – both for her voice and for her willingness to speak out on political, religious and social issues.
The singer’s cause of death was revealed to be asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). She was laid to rest at a ceremony in the Irish town of Bray, with Bob Geldof and Bono among those paying tribute at her funeral.
Many figures from the music industry paid tribute to her online, including Garbage, Billy Corgan, Michael Stipe, Fall Out Boy, Ice-T and Tori Amos, and streams of her music went up by 7.9million in the US during the week after her death.
Her last album was 2014’s ‘I’m Not Bossy, I’m the Boss’, and her last single was 2023’s ‘The Skye Boat Song’ which she recorded for the drama series Outlander.
In the years since her passing, there has been a stage production based on her life and music in Manchester, and ongoing rumours of a biopic – which date back to 2023.
