When death isn’t the great equaliser

While not attempting to dismiss the obvious grief of bereaved families and the undoubted comfort arising from the expressions of sympathy by friends and the community at large, the question should be raised as to the criteria and justification for State funerals.

The opportunity of the masses to express their grief may have had some validity in the past when one considers the the exalted and especially the remoteness of certain category of people.

However that divide no longer exists.

When one considers the trappings of power, the accolades, the remuneration both in and after being in office, is it justifiable that in death a special status should still continue?

We have heroes in all walks of life, campaigners on behalf of the homeless, champions for those with special needs, volunteer nurses in hospices, lifeboat crews and gardaí who put their lives at risk to save others, women and men in local communitees who tirelessly reach out to help others, medical professionals who perform lifesaving proceedures, and dedicated carers within families -- and all of this is taken for granted.

Yes, the bereaved deserve sympathy and the good deeds of the deceased should be mentioned, and the hagiographic generosity of the Irish is legendary, but in this republic is there still a hierarchy whose contribution to society is so superior that, even in death, we elevate them to some sublime status?

Certain faiths believe we are all equal in death , but it appears the transition for some merits a loftier exit.

Daniel O’Shea

18 Woodview

Pinecroft

Grange

Cork