She survived continuous physical and sexual abuse as a child, due to which she ran away from home aged 13.

She also survived an ‘unwed mothers' Magdalene laundry.

Much of what she endured was sanctioned and sanctified by the Catholic church, which still had/has a stranglehold on social mores in Ireland.

At the time of her appearance on SNL, there was an ongoing controversy surrounding the hushing up of sexual abuse in the Catholic church — which is effectively the same as condoning the practices rife among it’s clergy.

She was ridiculed, booed and vilified for her protest (ripping up the picture of the pope).

She has struggled with serious depression and attempted to take her life many times.

Yet she persevered, spoke/continues to speak out about abuse and mental health issues in the hope of helping others.

I would call that surviving. Don’t you?