School: Kilbeggan (B.)

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1. Wakes (continued)

   

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   Suffering was the rule. Tricks of all descriptions were played. In this town the dead office was chanted by seven men. These men came from Ballymacmorris. They sat arond a table with seven candles lighted and each had a little book form which they read the "weird dirge". It took about an hour to chant it. There was a wake one night of course the usual "tricks" were being played. The old man was being "waked" on the kitchen table". Whilsst the fun was highest some of the "go boys" tied a rope round the corpse, unknownst to the women. About midnight a "drop of tay" was being prepared. In the meantime the boys went outside (I forgot to mention that the feet of the "old departed were facing the door). Outside, they pulled the door after them and tied it up. They had the rope from the corpse under the door. The women were drinking the "tay" when all of a sudden the corpse sat up the women were terrified and made for the door. The wake candles were knocked down and there was nearly being another fear deaths. When all lthe "melee" was over there was another ruction started with the woman of the house. She got a "pounder" (pot-stick) and licked all round her. Such was an old time wake. Out of a wake house no

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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

   Teresa Hurley

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath

   Informant

   Mrs Caffrey

   Gender

   Female

   Address

   Kilbeggan, Co. Westmeath