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Irish
Contents
Irish Immigration to New York City >The
Irish at 97 Orchard Street > 19th
Century Dublin > Irish Immigrants
in the Workplace > Irish Immigrants
and the Catholic Church in America > Tammany
Hall and Irish Political Participation > Irish
Nationalism > Irish Fraternal and County Organizations >
19th Century Health Care and the Immigrant Irish > The Irish Wake
The Irish Wake
A longtime Irish cultural tradition, the wake generally refers to
the period after death from the time the body is laid out until
it is brought to the cemetery for burial. Typically festive and
playful, its purpose was to give relatives, friends, and neighbors
the opportunity to visit and offer their sympathy for the bereaved
family and pray for the deceased. It was the traditional Irish way
of celebrating a life, ensuring that the dead had a good "send
off," and preparing them for the next life. If the deceased
had enjoyed a long and relatively complete life, the wake would
resemble a joyful celebration in which games were played, food was
eaten, alcohol was consumed, and tobacco was smoked. In contrast
to a wake in Ireland, one conducted in 19th century New York City
would have reflected the limited amount of space available in tenement
apartments, something that would not have been an issue in rural
Ireland.1
Gender roles were ascribed to the preparation of and participation
in the wake. Men were responsible for ordering the coffin, and providing
the food, alcohol, pipes, and tobacco. The role of the mother or
wife of the deceased would have been kept minimal, as she was expected
to be overwhelmed with grief and incapacitated by her loss. The
task of laying out the body would have fallen on neighboring women
who were sometimes referred to as "handy women" or "mna
cabhartha."2
During the three hours between death and the preparing of the body,
the windows of the room would be left open. This was to allow the
soul to escape. The body was then laid out with its eyes closed
and a death band tied around the head to keep the mouth shut. After
the corpse was arranged in the correct posture, the washing of the
corpse took place. If there was no soap available, oatmeal was used
to cleanse the body. The handy women were given whiskey before and
after cleansing the body. After washing, the water used to cleanse
the body was treated with great care and respect as it was believed
to have healing properties and to represent the dead in some respect.3
Once washed, the corpse was dressed in a habit, a light garment
similar to the outer clothing worn by a monk or friar. The habit
was usually heated or warmed before being put on the body. Typically
purchased and not made, the habit was made from a dark yellow cloth.
According to tradition, a corner was cut and burned to prevent others
in the house from dying in the near future. White, immaculate sheets
were placed under and over the deceased. Often borrowed and used
solely for waking the dead, these were sometimes also hung around
the bed and, in some houses, tied to each corner with black bows.4
As a symbol of the individual soul and the flame that lights the
dark of ignorance, candles figured prominently in the traditional
Irish wake. Lighted candles usually were placed on a table near
the deceased for the duration. These were left lighting throughout
the days and nights of the observance. As with many items needed
for the wake, candles and candlesticks were often borrowed, but
had to be returned within a short period of time after the wake.
In addition, one candle in 12 was sometimes quenched during the
wake to represent Judas the apostle, but this quenched candle always
remained alongside the remaining lighted candles that stood for
the other apostles and were believed to protect the dead against
enemies.5
In the home, clocks were to be stopped as soon as a death occurred.
During the observance, mirrors were covered or turned towards the
wall because it was believed that one would see death and that another
member of the family might die. Sometimes, no music was played in
the house for one year after the death of a family member.6
Visitors would be welcomed to the wake with a shaking of hands.
Upon entering the apartment, mourners would make their way directly
to the body, kneel down, and silently recite a few prayers. Afterwards,
it was a common gesture for male mourners to "redden the pipes-guests
arriving would have been given clay pipes and tobacco to smoke.
Upon taking the pipe, it was traditional for guests to say another
brief prayer, usually "The blessing of God upon the souls of
the dead."7
During the wake itself, at no time was the body of the deceased
left unattended in the room. During the wake, the rosary would be
recited twice, once at midnight, and again when dawn was approaching.
Once again, this was usually an assignment for the women present
at the wake. At traditional, celebratory wakes, the time between
midnight and dawn would have been the time for festivities. Male
guests would play cards and music, and dancing would often occur.
Mourners might gather round to listen to a storyteller, who would
interweave narratives about the deceased with larger stories relating
to Irish legend. In Ireland, organized feats of strength and athletic
competitions would sometimes take place, along with games rife with
sexual innuendo and crude humor that many observers found to be
offensive. Perhaps for this reason, young children would have been
absent from the wake altogether, left in the care of neighbors or
relatives instead.8
Although a traditional Irish wake of the type described above would
probably not have been held for a deceased infant or young child,
families would have observed their passing in a much more somber
and private manner. In this sense, it was less a wake and more a
mourning observance. Visitors were limited to close family members
and sometimes neighbors, with the local parish priest who had baptized
the child sometimes attending to give his condolences.9
The deceased infant or child would be laid out in a crib or white
coffin, dressed in its christening robes, and positioned with a
crucifix on its chest and rosary beads entwined in its fingers.10
With the somber atmosphere of the observance, keeners would likely
have been present. Keening consisted of wailing high-pitched, discordant
songs sung in Irish, which eulogized the dead and provided them
with a genealogy. Keening was usually carried out by mna caoine,
old wo men either related to the deceased or specially hired to
perform the role.11
See also: The Meehan-Moore Family;
Ninety Seven Orchard Street/The
Irish at Ninety Seven Orchard Street.
1 Elaine Ni Bhraonáin, "Aspects
of the Irish Way of Death: Materials and Customs of the Wake"
(BA Thesis, University College Dublin, 2002); Sean O Suilleabhain,
Irish Wake Amusements (Dublin: Mercier Press, 1976).
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 Ibid.
8 Ibid.
9 Ibid.
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
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