'SINEAD WAS SO SICK AND FRIGHTENED, BUT SHE WILL NEVER GIVE UP HER FIGHT FOR THE DAUGHTER SHE ADORES..'; SINGER SNATCHES HER CHILD FROM DAD AND HIRES SECURITY TEAM TO MAINTAIN 24-HOUR GUARD By Neil Michael CONTROVERSIAL singer Sinead O'Connor has snatched her little girl back from the toddler's father, friends claimed last night. The controversial star visited the youngster at dad John Waters' Dublin home two weeks ago. She pretended she was taking three-year-old Roisin for a walk but took her straight to the airport and on to a London-bound plane. The anxious mother has now hired 24-hour a day security guards and mounted state-of-the-art surveillance systems at her home in Highgate in a bid to keep Roisin's father from taking her back. Friends said Sinead regretted giving her daughter up to Waters last month and claimed she only agreed to it because she was ill at the time. The snatch is a sensational twist to a custody battle set to hit London's High Court later this month. A friend said last night: "She regretted giving her up in the first place. "She wasn't very well at the time and she did it out of fear. "She didn't think she had the strength to fight a custody battle she thought she would lose. "But she is now adamant she will never give up Roisin, who she absolutely adores. "It is easy to see why people might be surprised that Sinead gave away her own child, but there is so much more to all this." And the friend, who asked not to be named, added: "Sinead felt the Irish legal system let her down. "She felt she was being put on trial for a crime she did not commit. "She felt like a criminal in her own country because of this case so far." O'Connor is said to have told Waters by phone from London where Roisin was. But she then took her to Europe to stay with friends. The singer temporarily gave up custody of the three-year-old on Mother's Day. At the time she said she was doing this in the best interests of her daughter and that she intended to buy a home in Dublin so she could visit her. Friends say the decision was prompted by the physical and emotional exhaustion she has suffered because of her current custody battle with Waters. "Her weight had dropped to seven stone, she hadn't eaten for six weeks and she badly needed to get away for a while," the friend said. "She felt pressurised into giving Roisin away, but it was a decision she deeply regretted. "Stress and pressure can do things to people and when you feel you have nowhere to turn, you end up bottling it up inside. "Given the fact that she is a singer, she is isolated a lot of the time, purely because of her work. "Something had to give. She ended up in hospital." O'Connor's doctor booked her into a London hospital where she stayed for about nine days before flying over to Dublin. The row between Waters and O'Connor burst into the open after it was revealed that her local London social services were investigating her for neglecting the care of their daughter. Despite two separate enquiries, no evidence of child neglect was found. They put out out a statement saying that they were dropping the entire investigation because they found a "very happy and loved: " daughter. O'Connor, whose string of hits include Nothing Compares 2U and whose next album is out in the summer, also has an 11-year-old son Jake, from rock musician John Reynolds. Although she is still close friends with Reynolds, she recently said of Waters: "I would rather die screaming than ever have anything to do with that man." They met in 1995 but split when she was eight weeks pregnant with Roisin. He is a writer and Irish Times columnist who has been a leading figure in a campaign for equal rights of contact for fathers to children of estranged partners. "Whatever is going on between Waters and Sinead is their own business and it is just so unfortunate that it has come out into the open," a friend said. "But the stories about Sinead being a bad mother started from somewhere and her health has just taken a bit of a dive ever since. "Imagine being told that, not just as a woman but also as a woman who has herself suffered abuse at a younger age. "And who was taken away from her own mother and suffered greatly because of it. "Sinead has been portrayed as this mad, crazy person who is an unsuitable mum. "A bit crazy she may be but that's not a crime. "She has said herself, only a crazy person would have have had a baby under these circumstances, although she doesn't regret having what she calls her little goddess. "But a bad mother she definitely isn't. "She is back on her feet again after a very low, almost suicidal, time." The friend added: "Sinead has hired 24-hour security guards to watch her house and installed a new camera system." "She doesn't want anyone trying to get Roisin off her. "No matter where that girl goes, there is at least one beefy security guard watching over her. "Others are also being paid to watch the place at night. She's leaving nothing to chance. "It may all sound a bit extreme but this is Sinead's fight-back. "People have no idea what that woman has been through." And she added: "Her attitude now is that the whole matter should be resolved in England. "She has lived there for 13 years and Roisin has lived there all her life. "Some day, when her daughter is older, Sinead will explain as much as she can what has happened between herself and Waters. "It's so unfortunate but thankfully, she is too young to fully understand what is happening between her parents." O'Connor has a residence order which means Roisin can live with her at her London home. The order was renewed two weeks ago. "Sinead broke no laws by snatching Roisin," her friend added. "She never gave full legal custody to Waters and was within her rights to take her back."Troubled star shadowed by controversy SINEAD O'Connor is no stranger to controversy. In 1992 she tore up a picture of the Pope on an American TV show while co-star Frank Sinatra and the audience gasped in horror. The show's switchboards were jammed for days with callers complaining about her behaviour. But Sinead carried on courting publicity, praising jailed rapist Mike Tyson and criticising his victim as a "disgrace to women" just days afterwards. In later interviews she blamed her behaviour on depression.