School: Mághthobair (Mohober), Dúrlas Éile (roll number 7048)

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1. Funeral Customs

   

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   Before the hearses came to be known, the corpse was carried to the church by means of "Bearers". Two sticks were placed at one end of the coffin and two at the other end and these were tied together. Four men carried this bearer on which was the coffin, on their shoulders. The coffin of a lay man is carried into the church with his feet first as during life he was wont to face the priest but that of a priest is carried with his head in front as he faced the congregation all his life
   Pipes of tobacco were given to the people attending a wake. This was a custom in all parts of Ireland and each smoker returned home with his pipe. The non smokers were handed round plates of snuff. In olden times when a person died the relatives of the dead person went several miles to get a "keener", 'caoinear'. This was a woman who went to the side of the bed and kept keening or crying until the person was buried. The keeners are not called to my district when wakes take place, but some of them visit the houses of the dead persons still and start keening outside the windows. While the keeners are keening outside they keep combing their hair.
   A dance was held in the house on the night of the wake in olden times but it is not the custom now. Another custom at the funeral was to go to the same road to the burial ground, as previous funerals from the house, and if they went a different route it would foretell the death of another member of the family soon.

   

   Transcribed by a member of our volunteer transcription project.

   History Edit

   Topics

   1. activities
      1. social activities (~7)
         1. rites of passage (~573)
            1. death (~1,076)

   Language

   English

   Collector

   Andrew Fox

   Gender

   Male

   Address

   Gragaugh, Co. Tipperary

   Informant

   Mr Andrew Fox

   Gender

   Male

   Age

   53

   Address

   Gragaugh, Co. Tipperary