Death
Brian Bonner "Our Inis Eoghain Heritage"
The customs associated with death were numerous. It was surrounded
by awe, fear and mystery.
Signs were evident among the neighbours and also at times visible
to the members of the family concerned when death was coming - a
wraith in the night, a warning dream, the person concerned seen
at a distant place even though known to be in bed.
The lore of the people abounded with suchlike warnings. The dull
and unimaginative would miss the signs but the alert Celtic mind
did not. The spiritworld was as real to it as the potatoes and butter
eaten at dinner.
When a death took place all the families in the townland were informed.
Work in the fields ceased until after the funeral and the neighbours
gathered in the house of the bereaved. Two of the men went to get
the "dead clothes" and the women began to prepare the
corpse for the "laying out".
At the moment of death the clocks were stopped and all mirrors
turned towards the wall. In some places the window nearest the deathbed
was opened.
The "laying out" consisted in washing the body, dressing
it in the shroud and placing it on the bed, which was covered with
linen sheets. All taking part in this function were compelled by
custom to take a sip of whiskey.
The corpse was kept for two days and two nights after death. The
day period was called the "corpse-hour" while the night
vigil was termed the "wake". Neighbours visited the house,
sympathised with the relatives and prayed by the bed on which the
corpse was laid. Refreshments in the form of tea, poteen and other
beverages were available to all. Clay pipes filled with tobacco
were given to the smokers. The wake was attended by the young people,
who remained until the morning. The Rosary was said at midnight.
On the morning of the funeral the corpse was placed in the coffin
in the presence of all the relations and the Rosary was said again
The "first and last lift" - the carrying of the coffin
to the hearse at the house and the bearing of it later to the graveside
from the church - were honours given to the nearest relations. The
funeral went to the graveyard by the longer road if more than one
way were available.
Inside the house the women were very active to ensure that all
the arrangements associated with the laying-out were undone before
the corpse had left the townland. All chairs on loan from neighbours
were left outside the door and chairs on which the coffin had rested
when brought outside the house were turned down on the street. A
sip of whiskey was then taken by each one remain in the house.
The coffin was brought into the church when the hearse arrived
at the gate. Mass and funeral service followed. Then offerings were
collected from the people attending. The total collected was taken
as a status symbol.
On the day following the funeral the "washing" took place.
A number of women from the neighbourhood came and helped to wash
all the sheets, etc., connected with the corpse.
It was the custom when the name of a dead person was mentioned
for the speaker to say "May God rest him". Great respect
for the dead is a feature of this society and it is considered very
bad form to speak ill of the dead. De mortuis nil nisi bonum
was a rule carefully observed by all.
Keening the dead was a custom observed here until the early part
of the present century. In the Drumaville area the corpse was carried
to Ard na gCrop at Ballyharry. Here the corpse was placed on the
ground and the professional lamenters chanted the caoineadh.
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