School: Drumloughan (Dromlachan) (roll number 15665)

Location:
Sunnagh More, Co. Leitrim
Teacher:
Peadar Mac Giolla Choinnigh
Browse
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0221, Page 122

Archival Reference

The Schools’ Collection, Volume 0221, Page 122

Image and data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.

See copyright details.

Download

Open data

Available under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)

  1. XML School: Drumloughan (Dromlachan)
  2. XML Page 122
  3. XML “Customs at Deaths and Funerals”

Note: We will soon deprecate our XML Application Programming Interface and a new, comprehensive JSON API will be made available. Keep an eye on our website for further details.

On this page

  1. (continued from previous page)
    The corpse is washed shaved and "laid out" by the neighbours. The corpse is now brought to the chapel on the day before the funeral but some years ago there was a two nights wake. Clay pipes and tobacco are provided for the men and snuff for the women and the young people generally remain up the whole night until day break. Long ago they used to spend the night playing tricks but this is not now the custom. On the day of the funeral the corpse is taken out feet foremost and placed on two chairs on the street. It is then lifted and put into the hearse. The two chairs are then knocked together. This custom is always followed. If a person dies upstairs, the corpse is always taken out through a top window and never down the stairs. Just before a person dies the tick (a feather tick or mattress) should be taken from under them and they should be let die on the under mattress e.g a person should never be let die on a feather tick. Some say it takes them longer to die if they are left lying on it.
    (continues on next page)
    Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.
    Topics
    1. activities
      1. social activities (~7)
        1. rites of passage (~573)
          1. death (~1,076)
    Language
    English
    Collector
    P. Mac Giolla Choinnigh
    Gender
    Male