Letters to the Editor: We might have a romanticised view of Irish wakes and funerals

One reader found herself rethinking her attitude to funerals as she mourned her late mother

Sinead Morrissey writes: 'So, is the Irish funeral actually romantic, or are we all just obsessed with the notion that it is?' Picture: iStock

Until my mother Angela was killed in a traffic accident, I always spoke in favour of Irish funerals. When sharing drinks with friends abroad, I loved to shock them with revelations of RIP.ie, personal anecdotes of ritually sitting next to my grandad’s coffin in his bedroom, tea in hand, while each cousin took turns telling their favourite story about ambitious parking skills and Sunday games. 

I would boast about the romance of it, the rich history of wakes, professional keening, “a good Irish funeral beats a bad wedding”.