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> Most Irish never experience a wake I wouldn't go that far. Both of my grandfathers died in the last 3 years, one in suburban Dublin, one in a large country t
by dmurray 9y ago
> Most Irish never experience a wake
I wouldn't go that far. Both of my grandfathers died in the last 3 years, one in suburban Dublin, one in a large country town. Both had wakes with the body laid out and dozens or hundreds of people coming to pay their respects. I agree it's no longer the universal custom it once was, and it's dying out - or perhaps ebbing, to come back into fashion in another generation.
- derriz 9y agoInteresting. I've never been to a wake in a town or city - any funerals I have experienced have used an undertaker's parlour. I guess I was generalizing from personal experience but I reckon the author of the piece did a lot more generalising.
- newirish 9y agoIrish American on my mother’s side here. I didn’t realize wakes weren’t a thing that people did until I was an adult. There would always be an open casket, paying of respects, and a party. I find the article to be as much about the preparation for death by the dying as it is about the remembrance of those left behind. The willingness to accept it as a normal thing, a celebration of life.