Dolores O'Riordan

“You know that band that are all over 'Melody Maker,' Huggy Bear, they're just a load of crap, right? Riot grrrl group - y'know, it's all sexism and stuff, women standing up for their rights: 'This girl said this at the gig off the stage.' It's nothing got to do with music. They're probably untalented gits when it comes to the crunch.”

“When I got pregnant, I started singing again. It was my saving grace. I literally mean having this amazing human life, and our relationship in the sense of mother and child, redeemed my soul.”

“I hated singing, I hated being on stage; I hated being in the Cranberries. I was constantly crying. I was going insane. I wanted to be a shopkeeper, a hairdresser, anything. I was so desperate to have a reality, friends, a regular, boring life. I missed that.”

“I keep my children safe and protected from all my baggage. They get to have a normal childhood, and they're not affected by my life.”

“I love performing, and I love the idea of people buying records. I don't particularly like the idea of people knowing me or thinking they do, but that's a part of what I choose. I choose not to go to college; I choose to be a singer.”

“My mom always had a softer spot for boys, as a lot of Irish women do. If you were a girl, you'd have to sing or wear a pretty dress. But boys could just sit there and be brilliant for sitting there and being boys. It makes you that little bit more forward. Pushy. I was singing, always.”

“Why can't we actually sing and get respected as good singers and songwriters without having our boobs and butt hanging out?”

“Once you succeed at what you're doing, your parents see that what you were doing wasn't so bad after all, though they'd prefer to see you in a secure lifestyle where you have a contract for years and years, or you have a diploma or degree.”

“I'm an artist, and I need to work, like everybody. We need to be challenged and that we're getting up and doing something with our lives.”

“Sometimes your kids give you that shove out the door to do things that you need. Teenagers are good that way; they keep you in the loop.”

“I was 19 when I wrote 'Dreams,' and that would have been when it started to happen. The band got signed, and I was probably beginning to see different things besides my small town of Ballybricken.”

“There's always a party in my bus.”

“It's amazing to see anyone come out, let alone tell you they have been waiting so long. They are loyal people, our fans.”

“Growing up, there was a lot of pressure for women to be good-looking, but my mum was very strict, and she didn't allow me to wear make-up. Looking back, it was good for me. It slowed me down from becoming an adult too quickly.”

“I love to go home to my kids. I don't have that lull in my life when I didn't have them.”

“One day we were in Limerick... and then, a few weeks later, we were being flown around to play. When we started, it was just a hobby. It wasn't any big ambition.”

“In 1997, we took time off, and that's when Oasis broke and Princess Diana died and I was home with my baby hating the music industry. People asked what I thought about the Spice Girls, and honestly, I was so happy to tell them I couldn't be bothered to care.”

“I went to Irish dance when I was four. I was playing the tin whistle when I was five. So I think certain things are bred into you.”

“I just block out the demons. I sing. I block them away. I put my pain into my music. I paint. I make my own videos. I direct myself. No one directs me anymore. I am in charge of my destiny.”

“When the band were really big and we had massive hits, I was always stressed-out and insecure. I thought I wanted the band to be really popular, but when that happened, there was so much pressure to keep it going.”