"You'll never guess who'se dead."
If there's one thing few people realise about Ireland, it's that you're never too far from death. Death lives in the national consciousness in a way it does in few other parts of the world - and it's not even something most Irish people notice.
And while you might have the Obituaries page for the rich and famous in other parts of the world, the Death notices here are as much a part of life as any other notice. From a page for the deaths in the back of the newspaper, to the announcements of the recently deceased on the local radio, or website like RIP.ie that broadcast the deaths worldwide. A short memorial line, a remembrance from the family, and the details of the funeral for those who want to go.
I don't know if anything like that exists anywhere else. Maybe it does. It's a wonderful thing.
Me Granny passed Sunday evening at about 9pm. She was 91. In truth she might've been gone for years - dementia had already gotten her and she didn't even know herself anymore. But she stopped taking her food last week and that was that. She passed surrounded by everyone who could make it -- I'd been asked to wait to see if someone needed a pickup but by the time I got word they didn't it was too late.
By chance I drove past her nursing home for work twice, just about 2 weeks ago. I had the thought to sneak in for a quick visit - but I wasn't sure how to explain that and, well, Covid and dementia and all that - she wouldn't have recognised me on my own. Can't do that now anyway.
I'm doing alright, so long as I don't see people's response to the photos I put up on facebook - and so long as I keep going to work for the next few days. We'll all do it soon enough anyway.
If there's one thing few people realise about Ireland, it's that you're never too far from death. Death lives in the national consciousness in a way it does in few other parts of the world - and it's not even something most Irish people notice.
And while you might have the Obituaries page for the rich and famous in other parts of the world, the Death notices here are as much a part of life as any other notice. From a page for the deaths in the back of the newspaper, to the announcements of the recently deceased on the local radio, or website like RIP.ie that broadcast the deaths worldwide. A short memorial line, a remembrance from the family, and the details of the funeral for those who want to go.
I don't know if anything like that exists anywhere else. Maybe it does. It's a wonderful thing.
Me Granny passed Sunday evening at about 9pm. She was 91. In truth she might've been gone for years - dementia had already gotten her and she didn't even know herself anymore. But she stopped taking her food last week and that was that. She passed surrounded by everyone who could make it -- I'd been asked to wait to see if someone needed a pickup but by the time I got word they didn't it was too late.
By chance I drove past her nursing home for work twice, just about 2 weeks ago. I had the thought to sneak in for a quick visit - but I wasn't sure how to explain that and, well, Covid and dementia and all that - she wouldn't have recognised me on my own. Can't do that now anyway.
I'm doing alright, so long as I don't see people's response to the photos I put up on facebook - and so long as I keep going to work for the next few days. We'll all do it soon enough anyway.
I love the smell of rotaries in the morning. You know one time, I got to work early, before the rush hour. I walked through the empty carpark, I didn't see one bloody Prius or Golf. And that smell, you know that gasoline smell, the whole carpark, smelled like.... ....speed.
One day they're going to ban them.