Burial Practices of the Irish
A summary of historic death and burial customs in Ireland.
Location: Ireland
Bíonn an bás ar aghaidh an tseanduine agus ar chúl duine óig.
Death is facing the old and behind the young.[1]
Death and Burial in Pre-Christian Ireland
The Irish traditionally viewed death as a transition of the soul, more painful for the living than the dead. Noble clans sought to preserve their names through eulogies written by court poets. They cremated or buried their dead in megalithic tombs and hosted funeral games in their honor; many of the island's oldest fairs and festivals began as funeral games.[2][3] In some cases, warriors were buried standing with weapon and shield, facing the foes they had fought in life. Common farmers and craftsmen, on the other hand, were buried in humble family plots.[4]
Transitioning to Christian Burial Rites
Clan burial sites persisted for several centuries after St. Patrick's arrival. Gradually, however, the Christian custom of burying the dead in churchyards took over.[5] Early graves were marked with aspen rods, Ogham stones, or cross headstones. The high or Celtic cross is a tradition unique to the British Isles, featuring headstones carved with rings and elaborate interlace.[4] Irish saints and other religious figures rested in stone tombs or reliquaries. Their remains were thought to hold holy powers. Pilgrims visited saints' graves and shrines containing their relics, seeking miracles and healing throughout the Middle Ages.[5]
Irish Wakes
Irish wakes are a funerary custom still practiced in Ireland today. For several nights after a person's death, friends and family stay up with the corpse to mourn. To stay alert and soften grief, these wakes sometimes involved games, drinking, dancing, and storytelling. Calling back to bardic eulogies, families hired professional lamenting women to keen over the body.[4][6] This led to a stereotype of Irish wakes as drunken and debauched parties. But as one defender said in 1882:
"The real wake is by no means devoted to merriment in any sense. Even where the sorrow does not break through the attempts to hide it, it is only the alternation of set lamentation the song and story follow the keen."[7]
Bibliography
"Bíonn an Bás ar Aghaidh an Tseanduine Agus ar Chúl Duine óig," Daltaí na Gaeilge, accessed February 28, 2017.
Lady Wilde, Ancient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of Ireland (Boston, MA: Ticknor and Company, 1888).
Patrick W. Joyce, A Smaller Social History of Ancient Ireland (London, NY, and Bombay: Longmans, Green, & Co., 1906), 531-550.
Seán Duffy, Ailbhe MacShamhráin, and James Moynes, eds., Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia (New York: Routledge, 2005), 89-90.
Katherine Ashenburg, The Mourner's Dance: What We Do When People Die (Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2009), 43.
Alfred Williams, "A Wake in Connemara," New Catholic World 35, Summer 1882.
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