Announcing Death

The banshee; the Irish supernatural death messenger, was traditionally seen or heard wailing or keening close to or upon the time of death, and was associated with families of Gaelic heritage, particularly those with surnames beginning with “Mc” or “Mac” or “O” (such as McGrath or O’Brien). Nonetheless, many folklore collectors have recorded stories of the banshee in recent years. The following was collected during a recording session at the George Bernard Shaw Theatre in Carlow in 2009:

“My sister had an experience in a Dublin hospital. A motorbike accident came in. One fella was badly injured and the other one wasn’t. An elderly nurse came in and said, “is there an O or a Mc in here?’ The other nurse said: ‘Yeah, but he’s fine, he’s walking around.” He had a broken leg, whereas his pal was badly injured. The nurse went out, and the next thing is the other fella collapsed – he had a ruptured liver – and he was dead. The banshee had come to announce a death.”

(Collected by Peter McGuire, Carlow, 2009 )

Red fox

The sighting of a fox might be an indication of an imminent death.

Copyright Mike Brown

Red fox
Copyright Mike Brown

Red fox

The sighting of a fox might be an indication of an imminent death.

Copyright Mike Brown

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There were also other signs that a death had occurred. A sudden storm may sometimes blow, or unusual sounds would be heard. Foxes or ravens were said to gather nearby, or the bird may perch on the windowsill, an eerie motif so expertly exploited in American author Edgar Allen Poe’s famous poem, The Raven.
 

The occurrence of death used to be signaled to neighbours by burning a bundle of straw, or the bed of the deceased, outside. It’s a tradition that was echoed by the Irish traveller tradition of burning a caravan after a loved one had died inside it.

It was also customary, if a hive was kept, to tell the sad news to the bees. Clocks were stopped and mirrors veiled. An Irish tradition of placing goods in the coffin has parallels across the world and is also found in ancient Egyptian history.

There were a number of customs associated with carrying the coffin to the church. No shortcuts were taken on the funeral route. The coffin was carried by four men of the same surname.