School: Cnoc na Groighe (B.), Ráth Mhór

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1. Death (continued)

   

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   (d) If an old coffin had to be removed great care was taken to preserve to old one intact. The new one was then placed down and the old one was placed on top of it. If the old coffin got broken in the removal every bit of wood was carefully picked up and placed on or by the side, of the new one. Very often the skull and bones of some person were accidently exposed in such a removal and the grave-diggers very carefully and reverently had these replaced at the new burial

   (e) While the graves were often awaiting the burial the spades and shovels were placed in the form of a cross on the grave.

   (f) In the days when several families or clan had a common burying place in a graveyard and when members of that family or clan were being brought long distances to the common ground a mistake as to the ground was liable to be made To avoid any such mistakes relatives in the neighbourhood of the graveyard were interviewed and, as a rule, one of those was a recognised authority on the question of "where's the ground". Without any headstones he could tell the ground and where each grave was and who was buried in it There was always much talk and consideration before the grave was dug and as many as three or four of the friends went to the graveyard to "point out the grave". Then the

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   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

   Díarmuid Ó Múimhneacháin

   Gender

   Male

   Occupation

   Príomhoide