Category: Funerals
-
Tales of a Wake – New Book 3
Seamus Curran was a popular businessman in the town and the news of his sudden death came as a terrible shock to everyone who knew him. From every corner of the town and outlying district people came to the house where his body was being waked to pay their respects to their friend and the…
-
Paul’s Story – New Book 2
It was at Mick Harte’s funeral that I first met Paul Quinn, a popular and friendly man who was, before this occasion, a stranger to me. Paul, however, had been a very good friend to my Uncle Mick and he had, I was to discover, helped my father’s brother to avoid the full penalty of…
-
Biddy’s – saved by a Pipe
“Saved by a Pipe! Yes, by God,” said Charlie Hannon one night as we sat at a wake. “Let me tell you, there’s a powerful lot of strange things to be seen and felt, and don’t let anyone tell me that there’s not!” “I wouldn’t doubt it, Charlie,” said I. Without even recognising that I…
-
Biddy’s Midnight Funeral
A Tale of Mystery “Ah, would you be quiet!” cried an old man with whom I was discussing such topics, “Would you believe this?“ “Would I believe what?” I asked him. “It’s as true as I’m living,” he insisted. “I heard it from the man’s own lips, may God be merciful to him! And Lord…
-
Biddy’s Tragic Tale
Eileen Eileen Lennon was a small, lively, four-year old child with an Angel’s face and a smile that could melt the hardest of hearts. Her long, red curly hair flowed down over her shoulders and highlighted her bright, hazel coloured eyes. She was the unspoiled only child who had been gifted to her mother and…
-
Biddy’s – A Strange Burial
A Fairy Encounter Many years ago, there lived a hard-working farmer named Liam Mooney, who lived on the borderlands between County Armagh and County Louth. Times had been harsh for many seasons and there was little money to be made from poor harvests. Then, one day, the landlord came to Liam and told him, “You…
-
The Stories of Seamus No.2
Anne Maria Carew The following inscription was found in on a tombstone in the churchyard of Youghal that marks the grave of Anne Maria Carew, who died at the young age of 24 years. ’Tis ever thus, ’tis ever thus, when hope hath built a bow’r Like that of Eden, wreathed about with many a…
-
Odd Burial Traits
Deaths and burials are not the most enjoyable topics of conversation for everyone to involve themselves in. But I have often found it interesting to read about the very odd notions people have had about burials and the way that they have been carried out at various times and in various parts of this world.…
-
Heralds of Death
Those who have read some of my books of Irish Short Stories or have followed my stories will know that they contain several stories about “The Banshee”, which, of all Irish spirits, fairies, and ghosts, is the most widely known. Those people from other countries who visit Ireland usually read up on the customs and…
-
Sex and the Famine
Recently, I was reading through several books on the ‘Great Famine in Ireland’, or ‘Genocide for those who prefer to think of it that way. I read about Mayo, Sligo, Galway and West Cork where the men women and children died in their thousands during the ‘Great Famine’ in towns like Skibbereen and Ballinrobe. But,…
Ireland's Lore and Tales 