Dolores Mary Eileen O'Riordan was born in Ballybricken, a town 8 miles outside Limerick on Sept. 6, 1971. Her parents are Eileen and Terrance. Terrance was in a wheelchair due to a motorcycle accident. Dolores is the youngest of seven children; she is one of two girls. In the late eighties, Dolores met up with her band members-to-be. Feargal Lawler of Parteen, and Mike and Noel Hogan of Moycross gave Dolores the music to their future hit "Linger". She came back the next day with lyrics. It took some time for The Cranberries to take off, very emotionally impacting Dolores who was overcome with frustration. Their debut album, "Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We" is a quote-Dolores said it while the band members were part of an audience at a concert. It was in America where the Cranberries first found satisfying success - when they returned to their native Ireland, success was awaiting them there as well.

Dolores' life has gone from railing against war and childhood strife (she has always been an avid child advocate) and condeming disrespectful lovers, to deciding that she is "Free to Decide". Her family live has brightened up her music (not changing it for the better or worse).
Parents: Eileen & Terence O'Riordan. Siblings: 1 sister, 5 brothers (Dolores is the youngest). Married at Holy Cross Abbey, Tipperary, Ireland. First son, Taylor Baxter, was born on November 23rd, 1997 (Toronto, Canada). Stepson, Donny. The family has a dog named Geena. Swore to never get a tatoo, but did for her husband for their anniversary. It's on her arm, and has his name. She is a good Irish-step-dancer. On occasion, she'll perform live during a concert, usually to the song Liar, which isn't on an album, but is included in the Empire Records Sdtk. The Cranberries were originally called Cranberry-Saw-Us (a pun on the thanksgiving food) after the alleged last lyrics of the Beatles' song Strawberry Fields. First daughter, Molly Leigh, was born on January 27, 2001. Don Burton was Duran Duran's manager. He and Dolores met when The Cranberries and Duran Duran were touring together. They married in 1994. They had a horse-drawn carriage at their wedding. Has gone by the name Dolores Burton since her marriage to Don Burton in 1994. Collaborated with Michael Kamen who performs on three tracks released on The Cranberries, "To The Faithful Departed", album. In total, The Cranberries have sold over 36,200,000 albums. The songs "Nothing Left At All", "Reason", "Them", "Chrome Paint", "A Fast One", "Away", "Uncertain", "I Will Always", & "Disappointment" have never been performed live by the band. Was asked to both act in and compose music for Titanic, but refused both offers due to the birth of her son. She is said to be one of Pope John Paul II's favourite singers. She has performed live for him at the Vatican twice. Second daughter, Dakota Rain, was born on April 10, 2005. She's the richest woman in Ireland.