14 September 2018
Newsdesk
The Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan's death came as a complete shock to her bandmates because they were convinced she was winning her bipolar battle and feeling great.
The Linger star’s body was found in a suite at a London hotel in January (18) and the recently-released results from an investigation suggest she accidentally drowned in a bathtub due to alcohol intoxication.
Bandmates Fergal Lawler and Noel Hogan are still trying to come to terms with the tragedy, telling The Guardian newspaper Dolores appeared to be in great health in the weeks before her death, as the group made plans for 2018.
Lawler reveals the singer had confided in him about her mental health battles after she was diagnosed bipolar in 2016.
"It was only the last few years that she started talking about psychological problems, because she didn't know herself," he explained. "She saw a few different therapists and realised what she had and she started getting treatment for it."
"She was a lot more herself," Hogan added. "Especially last year, when we were rehearsing - you wouldn’t even know, because they had found the right cocktail of whatever it was she needed to be on. There wasn’t even a case of having to work around it.
"The hardest thing was her back, because playing live she could not move as freely as she used to."
O'Riordan was battling a slipped disc in her back, but was still on board to play a planned arena tour in China.
"She was really psyched about getting back out and really looking forward to China, because that was a big tour for us," Hogan explained.
The Cranberries are currently celebrating the 25th anniversary of their hit album Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? and Lawler and Hogan have now revealed there is a final album in the works, featuring O'Riordan’s last recordings.
"Lyrically, the new album is very strong," Hogan told the publication. "She always said she found it hard to write songs when she was happy. She always said, 'Put a bit of misery in her life and it was easier'.
"We will do this album and then that will be it. There is no need to continue."
