School: Balrath (1) (roll number 9770)
- Location:
- Balrath, Co. Westmeath
- Teacher: C. Ní Pharthaláin
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- XML School: Balrath (1)
- XML Page 225
- XML “Wake and Funeral Customs”
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- Wake and Funeral Customs
Long ago the old people would have a lot of habits at wakes. At the wakes the men would have clay pipes and tobacco and woman would have snuff. There would be always a bottle of whiskey in the house. They would be playing games, singing and dancing. They would play a game named "Hurry the brog". The way they would play that is everyone would stand round in a ring and a straw rope round their legs and a man would stand in the middle and a cloth on his eyes and sometimes they would hit them with a rope and whoever he would catch would go in the middle then. They would never wake the corpse in the kitchen but in the barn and it would be on a table and sheets over it. They would never not bring to the chapel until the day of the funeral. Sometimes if they left the coffin on a stool when they would take it off they would knock(continues on next page)- Collector
- Bridget Hand
- Gender
- Female
- Address
- Balrath, Co. Westmeath
- Informant
- John Hand
- Relation
- Parent
- Gender
- Male
- Age
- 60
- Occupation
- Farmer
- Address
- Balrath, Co. Westmeath