Y'know yer one who lives around the corner from the shop? The one whose mam worked in the school where yer cousins went? He worked for yer uncle for a month or so?
....
It's always a flat "(s)he's dead", never anything else. "Ohhh you know your auntie Maureen, always dancing at parties? She's dead. Yep, heart attack out of nowhere."
Watching my mother meet up with her family is always good.
YES. Just matter of fact, like. Usually followed by an "ah, pity".
My BF is Canadian (I'm first gen Canadian with Irish parents), and bringing him over to Ireland, or to any family events in Canada, is weird for him. He can't get over how much we talk about death. The bereavement notices on the radio really disturbed him.
My mom likes to give me the "highlight reel" as she calls it. She just lists off the people I might know who died in the past 2 weeks, and then talks about who's not well for a while so I have an idea of what next weeks' highlight reel might look like.
I feel like the Irish trade mass cards like it's a game. Like Magic: the Gathering, but Irish: the Wakening.
Ohh, you literally do get tiny little death cards, slightly smaller than a debit card. You typically have a picture of the deceased, a little poem or prayer and generally a picture of Mary, Jesus or similar. They are sent out to family members and such upon death. It's kinda morbidly funny. Could be a bit archaic now though, I live in the UK and I feel like I am cheating when I claim to be Irish as I am only half!
I currently have one of my mam in my phone. My granny has a row of them of the people who have passed that she was close to all lined up at the bottom of her mirror.
Ahhh all my family does this. People thought I was so weird at college for having mass cards on my mirror lol. (I'm 2nd generation American but my family has clung to all their little Irishisms.)
I don't think it ever goes away. I'm like 4th/5th gen, and we do the cards at funerals, I usually tuck them into a picture frame. I've got 5 already this year (not a great year, unfortunately). I'm really only Catholic for weddings and funerals, but it's one of my favorite traditions - it's a lovely little reminder of the people you cared about. Do Protestants not do this?
I also get the rundown on everyone I might ever have heard of who died, not just from my mom but from all the aunts as well. It's not a family party until 6 old women have told you that Kelly, not your cousin Kelly, but your other cousin, Mike's girl? You remember Mike, he's your great uncle Danny's youngest son, lives in PA. You probably met him at young Dennis's wedding. Yeah, his daughter. She's dead.
I don't know if it's because of the many people with Irish heritage in the state, but Minnesota has this too, but we call it the "Minnesota Goodbye" where we say we are leaving, say goodbye to everyone and have a conversation as we are literally walking out of the door and taking another at least 20 minutes with that conversation before we actually leave the place. Apparently just fucking leaving is "insincere".
I guess that tradition takes a few generations to die, because my Irish/German -American grandma does this. If only I had a dollar for every blank stare my mom's given her in return...
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u/joanhallowayharris Jul 13 '15
Y'know yer one who lives around the corner from the shop? The one whose mam worked in the school where yer cousins went? He worked for yer uncle for a month or so? ....
He's dead.