Yesterday Sinead O’Connor married her boyfriend, Barry Herridge, in Las Vegas on her 45th birthday. The 44-year-old singer (and mother of four) had met the 38-year-old therapist in late August after she’d taken to Twitter and her website in a much publicized search for a new beau (or failing that, fresh yams).

“I’ve been married before, but I’ve never had my dream wedding in Vegas. I wanted to do it there because it’s casual, quick, not religious and, most of all, very romantic,” O’Connor told the Irish Independent, “We wanted a proper rock ‘n’ roll wedding.”

On the occasion of O’Connor’s new nuptials, I’m revisiting the moment when I first fell in love with the bald-headed Irish chanteuse. It was late 1987, and her debut, The Lion And The Cobra, was my world. Sinead’s voice — an insistent, powerful instrument that transitioned easily from intense, open-throated cries to hushed whispers, took total hold of me.

Together, the album’s nine tracks were like catharsis captured on record, providing vicarious therapy to the teenage me. I listened to The Lion And The Cobra endlessly, and while I initially gravitated toward the more upbeat tracks like “Mandinka” and “I Want Your (Hands On Me),” O’Connor’s moodier numbers were the ones I reveled in.

“Jackie,” in particular, haunts me to this day. “Jackie left on a cold, dark night, telling me he’d be home…” Strong stuff, and as album openers go, it’s a stunner:

Gregg Breinberg, director of Staten Island’s PS22 Chorus, is an ardent fan of The Lion And The Cobra too, calling it a “masterpiece.” Just a couple of weeks ago, Mr. B’s young charges did an excellent cover of “Jackie.”

Hopefully, Sinead’s wedded bliss means we won’t have to wait much longer for Home, the new album she announced earlier this year. She did release a new single, “How About I Be Me?” a collaboration with reggae producer Kemar “Flava” McGregor, but I’ve never shared her fascination with Rasta rhythms.

I do, however, appreciate Sinead’s naughty sense of humor. Over on her site, she posted pics of a certain U.S. chain of gas stations with the tag, “Full ‘service’ station.” If you’ve ever road-tripped through parts of the midwest and encountered the signage, you’ve been equally amused, I’m sure.

Purchase Sinead O’Connor – “Jackie” via iTunes, Amazon MP3.