Funeral rites in Ireland are bound up in a culture steeped in traditions and folklore which show expansive attention and respect to the supernatural and the “other world” or afterlife. This is nowhere more apparent than in the practices surrounding death and burial. From ancient to modern times, the people of Ireland have embraced rituals to ensure their dead properly departed this world and entered the next.

Ancient burial and mythology

Little is known for sure about the most ancient funeral rites of Ireland, but archaeological evidence does suggest marked concern about death and the afterlife. Prehistoric peoples of the island constructed large, even megalithic, burial monuments and mounds which can still be seen today. Grave goods—objects such as daggers, beads or other decorations—have been found interred with remains. Such offerings are another gesture towards belief in some afterlife.

Though older evidence of full- and partial-body burial has been found in parts of Ireland, cremation was widespread for many centuries throughout the Bronze Age and into the early Iron Age. As Christianity and Roman influence gained power, preference shifted away from funeral mounds and cremation and towards more uniform full-body burial in cemeteries.

Irish myth and legends tend to focus on the glorious battle and death of heroes rather than their funerals, but there are mentions of different funerary rituals that have endured in Irish culture through the centuries. Practices such as ritual burial, keening and funeral games, can all be found in various forms in sources such as “Ancient Irish Tales” as translated by Cross and Slover. In many Irish tales, those who departed this life without proper observances came back to haunt survivors or satisfy unfinished business.

The Irish wake

By far the most popularized of the funeral rites in Ireland is the wake, a tradition whose roots reach back through the history of the culture. The Irish Catholic wake gained its most widespread popularity in the 1800s, though it remained highly visible throughout the mid-20th century. In more modern times, the practice has dwindled and become more “circumspect” especially in urban areas. However, some rural Irish communities are still home to the full-fledged, traditional wake.

A wake is a vigil kept by the ones the deceased has left behind, who watch over the body after death and until burial. The traditional wake was a communal rather than a private affair. Word of a death spread quickly through closely-knit Irish communities, and guests would descend upon the family’s house, both to honor the dead with a proper “send off” and to provide closure and comfort to the surviving loved ones. As the folklorist Thomas Croker, noted, this remembrance “is a scene of merriment rather than of mourning,” especially if the deceased led a long and full life.

At a wake, family, friends, and neighbors—all who could attend—gathered to pay their respects and offer prayers for the deceased and condolences to the bereaved. But a large part of the evening (or evenings, as a traditional wake could last a number of days, sometimes three) was spent celebrating the life of the departed. Much food, drink, and pipe tobacco were consumed, in deference to the hospitality of the host. Talk and laughter often filled the house as visitors socialized and exchanged stories about the departed.

Many rituals were associated with holding a wake. Out of respect for the dead, clocks were stopped at the time of death. A window would be opened to allow the soul to depart. Importantly, after the body was washed and “laid out,” it was never left unattended. One or more mourners, usually women, sat nearby, and candles remained lit around the corpse. The deceased was often included in activities at the wake. A plate of food would be made up for him, a pipe lit or a hand of cards dealt as if he were present.

Funeral Games

Various funeral games were often played at the wake. These ranged from simple tables games or those similar to today’s children’s party games such as “Simon Says” or “Blind Man’s Bluff,” to contests of strength and agility, to more rowdy roughhousing or games with sexual or prankish themes.

These games, especially those with lewder themes, provoked strong disapproval from the Church, which considered them disrespectful and uncouth. They were also considered to be remnants of pagan rites and so particularly inappropriate for a Christian death. The Church’s attempts to suppress such “abuse of wakes” were repeated though mostly unsuccessful.

Keening

Another funeral tradition rich in Irish culture and folklore is keening. Keening, from the Gaelic word “caoineadh,” is a vocal lamentation, characterized by a high wailing tone and poetic lays sung in the Irish Gaelic language. Keening was often practiced at the wake, though it could also be included in the funeral procession and burial. Typically women performed the keening, possibly a female relative, but often a “professional” from the community who was hired on or recompensed for composing a keen over the corpse.

Funeral procession and Mass

The wake was ended once the body left the house for burial, at which point the proceedings typically became much more solemn.

The funeral procession traditionally took the longest route to the churchyard, as taking any shortcut could be seen as disrespecting the dead. The procession would pause at crossroads, and other travelers, even those going in the opposite direction, were expected to stop and accompany the mourners a short distance.

Mass said for the deceased would be a very different affair from the wake. Often there would be no eulogy or discussion of the individual’s life at all. Indeed, this is the case even today; in 2013, one of the largest Catholic dioceses in Ireland banned eulogies and personal readings in funeral services. Sometimes the casket is left overnight in the church, and a second Mass is said in the morning before the burial.

Modern funerals in Ireland

These days it is much less common to see a fully rendered wake in Ireland, especially in cities. It is much more common for the deceased to be prepared for burial and laid out in a funeral parlor for “visitation” rather than in his own home.

In lieu of the celebrating the remembrance of the deceased in his presence at a wake, family and friends may instead meet at a pub or relative’s house following the burial. Such gatherings can carry on some of the basic functions a wake fulfills: taking closure and comfort from friendly company and sharing with one another the importance of a life well-lived and now completed.