Irish Wakes

Teyla Emmagan

I've been at a good few in Donegal, but not much drink was consumed. There was a lot of tea and cake put away though. And then a bottle of whiskey or two would be produced late at night. They're a nice tradition wakes, if I was dead I would rather be home all night surrounded by family and friends than lying alone in the church all night before they buried me.

meoklmrk91

crockholm wrote: »

Or " Highway to Hell" by AC/DC, with the local PP doin air guitar and instead of a decade of the rosary,"Seasons in the abyss" by Slayer. And lots of great Irish whiskey.:cool:



Keening is an old Irish tradition of hiring some oul biddy to start wailing and crying,just to make it look like the deceased was actually loved and missed, from the Irish "caoineadh" to cry.

DEFTLEFTHAND wrote: »

Have you never heard of keening before? It's a vocal lament, basically crying and wailing by the coffin, it's an old Irish tradition exclusively practiced by women. There would be a select group of keeners in each Parish. Another function they served was to prepare the corpse for burial, they'd also watch over it on the night before the coffin is sealed and moved to the church.

The undertaker profession has more or less finished this aspect of their service.

Not familiar at all, can't get over that, sounds so weird!

krudler

Only ever at a rural wake once, with the person laid out in the house overnight, the idea of that for myself weirds me out tbh.

pragmatic1

Its pretty much the done thing in Donegal. I must have seen dozens of dead bodies by the time I was ten. It takes the mystery out of death and shows it for what it really is, i.e. the natural conclusion to life.

My name is URL

Was at a wake a few years back and a few woman folk were doing that keening thing. I'd never heard of it before and was a bit freaked out by it all. Actually thought they were taking the piss at first.. so friggin' weird.

arse..biscuits

Antar Bolaeisk wrote: »

Been at wakes in Donegal where there was copious amounts of whiskey drunk.

Maybe they do things differently at the other end of the county.

I was in Letterkenny and Milford, the wakes were as dry as a bone.

ruthloss

A neighbour of ours died and the sons had to go to an other town for the session because each of them had been barred from all the local pubs.

("we can't go there, I'm barred out".,well we cant' go there either, I'm barred from that one"):D

WayneMolloy

Norwesterner wrote: »

Haven't seen people sniffing snuff at wakes in years.
Come on people, I want my snuff.

Go to one in a working class area of Dublin. Plenty of 'snuff' available.

newmug

WTF is it with all the Donegal references on this thread? People die everywhere, and I can 100% guarantee you that wakes are had in peoples houses, with the corpse, and with full blown drinking sessions, in each and every single county in Ireland. Some of the best sessions I ever had were at wakes. They're the same everywhere you go.

Rasheed

newmug wrote: »

Some of the best sessions I ever had were at wakes. They're the same everywhere you go.

Definitely agree about having some of the best sessions at wakes. Especially when the chat gets going about funny stories and good memories about the deceased.

Wakes and stations (when the priest leaves) are always mighty for sessions and nice food.

arse..biscuits

newmug wrote: »

WTF is it with all the Donegal references on this thread? People die everywhere, and I can 100% guarantee you that wakes are had in peoples houses, with the corpse, and with full blown drinking sessions, in each and every single county in Ireland. Some of the best sessions I ever had were at wakes. They're the same everywhere you go.

I was at two wakes in Donegal and there was no drink at either and when I asked the people there, they thought the idea of drinking at a wake was very strange.
Every single wake I've been at in Dublin involved drinking all night around the body.

Da Shins Kelly

My uncle's wake is one of my most vivid childhood memories. It was the first time I'd ever experienced it, and I thought it was pretty amazing, to be honest. We just sat around in the living room all night with the body, telling stories, reminiscing and drinking. One minute everyone was crying, the next they were laughing. It was a wonderful, nostalgic, kind of romantic experience. I think it's a really interesting way of dealing with grief.

Scruffles

have been to wakes over here of irish family-do not have any english born family bar sister so have only been to possibly one english funeral...the english have a very different routine-wakes are a shock to them.

also find it interesting tagging along to the chapel of rest to see the bodies laid out,have always found death an impossible concept to understand and its just so strange seeing them lying there,no movement,cold body,look like they have put their make up on in the dark...and then there are the old irish traditions some aunts of mine have; putting a coin on each eye then taking photos of the body,never understood either of those; can anyone in the know explain it please?
never saw our southern irish family do it,only northern.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

I've been to two wakes, my aunty's over ten years ago, and my own mother only last week. I found them very comforting, seeing both women lying in peace in their own homes surrounded by their friends and family.

It has made me think it's what Id like to do, spend my last night on earth in the comfort of my own home. Better than a cold, lonely funeral home.

This is one Irish tradition which is well worth keeping going.

Mam of 4

Scruffles wrote: »

have been to wakes over here of irish family-do not have any english born family bar sister so have only been to possibly one english funeral...the english have a very different routine-wakes are a shock to them.

+1 on this.
When my Mam died,english relatives were stunned and amazed at us having Mam at home and the amount of ppl coming to pay their respects. Was a non drinking wake, but that didn't take from the stories, the tears or the laugher at funny memories. Hopefully it's a tradition that never dies out

kinkygirl

Johnny Electricity wrote: »

I've been to two wakes, my aunty's over ten years ago, and my own mother only last week. I found them very comforting, seeing both women lying in peace in their own homes surrounded by their friends and family.

It has made me think it's what Id like to do, spend my last night on earth in the comfort of my own home. Better than a cold, lonely funeral home.

This is one Irish tradition which is well worth keeping going.

My sympathy on your loss, and I agree, it's a lovely tradition which should not die out...no pun intended.

Catphish

downwithpeace wrote: »

First one I remember struck me as an odd way of keeping the family busy by taking care of everyone's needs rather then sitting around grieving, now I've noticed everyone gets drunk and has a chat with every family member of the deceased as they come to refill the glass.

A strange experience but communal.

The most recent wake I've been to was for my Grandfather. The Rosary was said taken in turns for him through the night. It wouldn't have been a party by any means, but I recall my Grandmother being handed a drink and a few others having one with her until they were called in for their turn. The in between bits was where they shared a few laughs remembering him, but in no way raucous or boisterous.

It's perfectly fine to share memories, but there is a time to leave if you're not actively taking part in saying the Rosary through the night. A lot of people visited that night, said their piece to my Grandad and said a prayer for him. Stayed briefly to talk to my Grandmother and whoever was there at the time and moved on.

That is the way it should be, respectful to the deceased person in the house, and those close to them.

Aint Eazy Being Cheezy

Of the two wakes I attended one was a drinking one with cans and spirits as well as tea/coffee cake and sandwiches. There was singing and dancing too. It was a celebration of life rather than mourning of death.

The most recent one only tea or coffee was served to guests, although close family did have one last drink with mam after everyone had left.