[on remarrying therapist Barry Herridge] Since no woman on earth could not adore a man that treats her like a goddess and loves her like a slut.

All what we know as rock and pop music came from blues when you trace it back, it's history came from blues and in its time blues was pretty much like rap in so far as it had the same format which meant anybody could write a song. It wasn't too complicated, it was 12 bars, you had three verses, the first three lines were the same, the last line was different, you had a bridge.

A writer is the perfect boyfriend, they have lots of time to snuggle and a desk to bend you over.

[on her time in school in Ireland] I remember being in Sion Hill in Blackrock and this old nun walked into the room and drew this enormous big hard dick - in one continuous sweep of the chalk - and we fell on the floor clutching ourselves laughing. We had never even seen a dick that didn't belong to our brothers. Why did she do it? And how did a nun know how to draw such an accurate looking penis, balls and all? Anyway, that was the limit of my sex education.

I'm not a musical snob. 'Ooo Baby Baby' or whatever - those are as valid as 'Working Class Hero' or 'Imagine'. But there are times artists do need to stand up and not just be entertainers. 'V.I.P', the song, was about Irish artists being silent on the matter of the church reports [on child abuse by priests]. But it translates. The priorities have gone askew. If the rappers and the rock stars are having dinner with the President, that's a problem.

[observation, 2013] The music business is corrupt. It's full of nothing but vampires and pimps. What was more important that came out of the Miley [Cyrus] thing was being able to conversate about mental health and human rights. The two of us, without meaning it, did quite a good job.

The power of rock'n'roll to change things, to move people, is being murdered by all this worship of fame - Pop Idol, XFactor, all this stuff. What I'm worried about is it's all about the visual, the pyrotechnics, the tits out, shake your ass. It's not about the song. That to me is quite sad.

I don't do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. I'm proud to be a troublemaker.

When you live with the Devil you learn there's a God very quickly.

As far as I'm concerned, I'm now in the business of making spiritual records and using my voice for that purpose. I'm not going to be singing songs that I made in the past. I closed the door on that incarnation of Sinead O'Connor.