Wednesday, May 22, 2019

IRISH WAKE


The street where I lived (West Fifth) had a variety of ethnic groups. Among them were Greeks, Albanians, Armenians etc. but it was predominately made up of Irish Catholics. When one of our Irish neighbors passed I went to the wake at the Casper Funeral Home on Dorchester St. to pay my respect. After offering my condolences to the family and the lately departed I was approached by one of the funeral directories and directed to a lower floor where there was a gathering.

 In contrast to the somber assembly above there was noise, laughter, back slapping, liquor and stories of the lately departed. At first I thought it was disrespectful to the family above but as the evening continued and I took part I changed my mind. The Irish had it right. The wake was a celebration of the person’s life not his death. That was my first introduction to the “Irish Wake”

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