"You're amazing Sinead!" shouted a woman from the audience -- and I would have to agree.

Sinead ran through her set of reggae covers with the ease of a seasoned rasta legend - but she didn't just cover them, she gave them her unique Irish 'flava'.

Her powerful voice, belying her meagre frame, had not changed since Nothing Compares 2 U.

A barefoot imp in jeans, T-shirt and bandana, without glam costumes,all she had to rely on was her voice and her sweet smile.

Gone is the old Sinead but she still retains an aggressive feminist streak that came out in Downpressor Man, which she dedicated to "the laydeez!"

In Curly Locks, she expressed her world motherhood with protective lyrics and sung in a soft, breathy voice.

Throughout her performance she did things with the microphone that would shock your mother, playing with its phallic symbolism, turning the typical image of the male rasta singer on its head.

She refused to sing any of the old favourites keeping on the reggae track -- two acoustic numbers in which she strummed a guitar.

Her last song was all about Jehovah and how he had brought joy and truth into her life. Always one for wearing her heart on her sleeve, this song really summed up her feelings.

Some of the audience grew bored, with one man crossing himself sarcastically. It was not the ending they would have liked.

Maybe nobody in the crowd got exactly what they had wanted but they must all have respected her for having guts.

Katy Beswetherick