Sinéad O'Connor's music dominates the Irish Independent Albums Chart – and Blur debut at No.1 on the Irish Albums Chart with The Ballad Of Darren

Following the tragic news of Sinéad O'Connor's death this week, three of the iconic Irish singer's albums have soared into the Top 10 of the Irish Independent Albums Chart.

While Arctic Monkeys' AM continues its reign at No.1 on the Independent Chart, Sinéad features at No.3 with So Far... The Best Of Sinéad O'Connor, No.6 with The Lion And The Cobra, and No.10 with I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got.

This week has seen tributes paid to Sinéad from every corner of the music community and beyond.

“Sinead was a wonderful, complex and brilliant person – and a towering artist,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes remarked. “And she was a truly extraordinary singer. Knowing her from when we first wrote about her in Hot Press at the age of just 17 has, for me, been a fantastic privilege…”

On the Irish Albums Chart, meanwhile, Blur have debuted at No.1 with their ninth album, The Ballad of Darren. Earlier this week, the Britpop legends – who currently feature as part of our Hot Press Triple Cover Special – released a deluxe version of the album, featuring bonus tracks 'The Rabbi' and 'The Swan'.

"The Ballad Of Darren, sees them in world-beating and occasionally world-weary form," John Walshe wrote in his review of the album for Hot Press, "from the mid-paced melancholia of ‘Russian Strings’; to the serrated guitar and spiky attitude of ‘St. Charles Square’; and the smooth and sunny pop chops of ‘Barbaric’, reminiscent of Ian Broudie at his finest (and that’s high praise indeed)."

He went on to hail The Ballad Of Darren as "the sound of a band in harmony, even as they’re still kicking against the pricks", and a "very welcome return."

Blur are followed in the Top 5 of this week's chart by three Taylor Swift albums – Speak Now (Taylor's Version) at No.2, Midnights at No.3, and 1989 at No.5 – and The Weeknd's The Highlights at No.4.