A tragic way to begin a new week; Tom Raftery’s mother has passed away. My condolences to you and your family, Tom.
A month after I first came to Ireland a co-worker’s father died in a road accident. The co-worker and I had shared a few drinks together and I went to his home village to attend the funeral. I was quite dumbstruck by the outpouring of support the community gave. Hundreds if not a thousand people arrived for the funeral. The local fire-brigade came in dress and formed an honour arch as the family left the church. Most of the crowd could not fit into the church and we stood outside in a cold November morning as songs were sang and words spoken.
I thought the deceased man must have been a great one, someone high-up in the power of things. And while he was liked and respected I found out during the rest of my year in Ireland how this community support is quite normal. Many a time passing through a village on the way to Dublin or Carlow we would be slowed down as hundreds of people left a cemetery after a funeral.
This respect for the lives, current and past, of people is something I really like in the Irish.
