Singer gives up custody battle

By Adam Lusher

SINEAD O'Connor, the Irish singer, has given custody of her two-year-old
daughter to the child's father.

The move follows a legal battle between her and John Waters, a columnist on
the Irish Times, over the girl.

The 32-year-old singer, who is based in London, said she was taking time
out to recover from the custody contest, adding: "I am not a bad mother.
That's not why I am giving up custody.

"I've been a good mother and John Waters accepts this. I will see our
daughter at weekends and during school holidays."

O'Connor, who has an 11-year-old son, is understood to be seeking a house
in Dublin so that she can be closer to her daughter.

In an interview last month she said she "chose" Waters, 37, as a partner
because of his looks and intelligence.

They had met only three or four times but began a brief liaison and agreed
to have a child, she said. "I couldn't say that we went into it with our
eyes entirely open. We didn't know each other very well."

Eight weeks into the pregnancy, she says, Waters cut all communication with
her. After the birth, he launched a custody bid claiming O'Connor was unfit
to be a mother because she was abused as a child.

The singer said she had recently been cleared by Camden social services
over allegations that she was neglecting her daughter.