After Dark: Myths, Misdeeds & the Paranormal

Episode Summary: Truth About Irish Funeral Beliefs

Release Date: October 30, 2025
Hosts: Anthony Delaney & Maddy Pelling; Guest: Dan Snow

Main Theme

This episode delves into the unique, dramatic, and defiant traditions surrounding Irish funerals – from the ancient practice of keening (ritual lamentation by women), to wakes held in the home, corpse roads, and enduring superstitions. The hosts discuss how these customs were shaped by cultural, religious, and political forces, and what they reveal about attitudes to death, grief, and community in Ireland.

Discussion Breakdown

1. Introduction & Context: The Power of Keening

[02:19–05:10]

• Maddy Pelling introduces the topic: ancient Irish funeral customs so transgressive that both the British government and the Catholic Church attempted to stamp them out.
• Anthony Delaney vividly recreates being at an Irish graveside, describing the powerful, communal ritual of keening – women wailing, singing, and openly expressing collective grief.
• The tradition's deep roots and persistence despite external attempts to suppress it are established.

“It is a wild crying for the dead led by the women possessed with an ecstasy of grief...a cry in the face of the horror to which we are all doomed.”
— Anthony Delaney [03:10]

2. What Is Keening? Origins, Performance & Suppression

[05:11–15:24]

• What is Keening?
  • Anthony explains the word's origin (from "caoineadh" meaning 'to cry' in Irish), noting it's a formalized, paid performance—women would be hired to keen at funerals.
  • Keening could include references to the deceased’s flaws, serving as a kind of emotional exorcism.
  • Only women traditionally performed keening, possibly connected to banshee folklore and gendered expectations around grief.
• Why Was It Suppressed?
  • Seen as pagan, female-centered, and threatening to Church and state authority. The Catholic Church and the British government both sought to eradicate it.
  • Discussion about attitudes in "modern" Western funerals: the physicality and emotional openness of keening stand in contrast to sanitized, controlled ceremonies preferred by British/Western authorities.
• Class, Gender, and Control:
  • Paying women for keening was also frowned upon, as it gave "power and influence" over a key life ritual to rural, often poor women.

“It’s not the content. It’s the control...We can’t have this heathenistic pagan ritual going on when we’re trying to civilize.”
— Anthony Delaney [08:13]

"It’s only women that are taking part...the banshee stories as well."
— Anthony Delaney [07:32]

3. Keening as Grief Art, Social Value, and Oral Tradition

[11:54–15:18]

• Performance with Purpose: Keening is not just emotional outburst—it’s structured, artistic, and helps the community process grief.
• Oral Tradition: Examples are drawn from the oral Gaelic tradition, including a translation of a keen by Eileen O’Connell (1793)—a poetic petition for her husband to rise from the dead, blending personal longing with ritual lament.
• Why Pay Keeners?: The irony that priests, organists, and undertakers are paid, but paying women to keen is seen as suspicious.
• "Death doulas": Anthony and Maddy reflect on modern parallels and the ongoing value of death rituals.

"Grief as an art form."
— Anthony Delaney [11:55]

"My own beloved dear. Now get up on your feet and come on home with me... I'll make you a bed with clean white sheets..."
— Eileen O’Connell's keen, read by Anthony Delaney [13:11]

4. The Wake: Proximity, Ritual, and Superstition

[22:02–27:34]

• What Is a Wake?
  • Irish wakes historically lasted two days and nights, often with the unembalmed corpse present in the home. This ritual fostered proximity and familiarity with death.
  • Family and community observed superstitions (opening windows to let the soul out, covering mirrors, stopping clocks).
  • Unique to Ireland: everyone knows “what to do,” creating a sense of community through ritual, in contrast to often-awkward English funerals.
• Superstitions:
  • If a hen flies over the corpse, it must be killed ("you do not want that soul jumping into that hen").
  • Wakes provide structure and shared language for grief.

“As soon as she died, my mum... opened the window. Because that's one of those things—you let the soul out.”
— Anthony Delaney [22:22]

"You don't want grandma walking around as a hen."
— Maddy Pelling [24:56]

5. Food, Drink & the Social Side of Death

[27:34–32:04]

• Drinking and smoking over the body were traditional—pipes and poitín (potato/barley moonshine) were shared, with prayers or toasts for the dead.
• The hosts actually sample poitín live, with much comedic effect.
• Notably, traditions around ritual food/drink have continuously evolved—poitín became a symbol of defiance after its prohibition.

"It's a bit vodka, isn't it? But fruitier."
— Dan Snow [28:47]

“As we were preparing for this, I got Freddie, our producer, to go on and look up my granny's profile on Rip.ie. Because everybody goes—everybody goes on.”
— Anthony Delaney [30:56]
(on how digital memorials on "Rip.ie" are now part of the tradition)

6. Corpse Roads, Moving the Body & More Superstitions

[34:07–39:22]

• Corpse/Coffin Roads:
  • Bodies were traditionally carried by family along designated paths; it’s unlucky to put a coffin down on the grass (unless on a sheet). Doing so creates “hungry grass”—a patch of land requiring purification, else it brings misfortune.
  • The process binds the community; there’s a sense of responsibility and ritual choreography (even undertakers “direct” the family’s movement).
• Carrying the Coffin:
  • Traditionally a male responsibility, but this is changing.
  • The party must not break up on the journey, or risk bringing another death.

"If you leave it on the grass, the grass becomes what's called hungry grass... That grass then needs to be cleansed."
— Anthony Delaney [35:54]

7. Reflection: Community, Grief, and Changing Traditions

[39:22–41:42]

• Large wakes foster community support and make the transition to private grief easier.
• Some aspects are being lost or scaled down in modern times, but many elements persevere—wakes, communal drinking, house versus funeral home.
• Fun anecdote about needing “stadium lighting and overflow car parks” for Anthony’s grandmother’s wake, underlining the scale and importance of the event.

“You are held up and you're bound together by this thing that the community comes together for.”
— Anthony Delaney [40:13]

8. Final Superstition: The Hammering from the Wake

[41:42–44:47]

• Anthony tells a folk tale in the authentic accent: A man walking home alone from a wake is haunted by mysterious hammering, and dies that night. Possible explanations: supernatural warning, guilt, or even his own coffin being assembled.
• The story is left unresolved—underscoring the rich intersection of folklore, superstition, and existential anxiety in Irish funeral tradition.

"I think he's hearing the nails in his own coffin... he's foretelling his own death because he... left the wake by himself."
— Anthony Delaney [44:07]

Notable Quotes

• Anthony Delaney [03:10]:
  "It is a wild crying for the dead led by the women possessed with an ecstasy of grief... It is the final act, a cry in the face of the horror to which we are all doomed."

• Dan Snow [09:17]:
  "It's almost like overt emotion is too much and the unpredictability that can come from within that emotion. Like, what happens if this community is literally wailing?"

• Anthony Delaney [22:22]:
  "As soon as she died... my mum... opened the window. Because that's one of those things—you let the soul out. You don't trap the soul in the room at the instant of death."

• Maddy Pelling [24:56]:
  "You don't want grandma walking around as a hen."

• Anthony Delaney [40:13]:
  "You are held up and you're bound together by this thing that the community comes together for."

Key Timestamps & Segments

• [02:19] - Introduction to Irish funerary rites and their defiance.
• [05:23] - What is keening? Its rituals and origins explained.
• [07:28] - Gender, performance, and banshee folklore.
• [08:54] - Suppression by authorities: Church and government.
• [13:11] - Example of a keen (lament) translated and performed.
• [22:22] - Description and significance of the Irish wake.
• [24:43] - Superstitions: Hens, mirrors, and the soul’s journey.
• [27:34] - Drinking, pipes, and evolving wake rituals.
• [34:09] - Corpse roads, carrying coffins, and “hungry grass.”
• [41:48] - Folktale: The hammering and supernatural warnings.
• [44:55] - Light-hearted outro and reflection on last year’s Halloween episode.

Memorable Moments

• The hosts drink poitín live on air at 28:13, resulting in comic reactions and banter:
  "Oh my God. It was a lot."
  — Anthony Delaney [28:35]

• The description of Anthony’s family needing “stadium lighting and overflow car parks” for a wake [40:07] brings home the epic, communal scale of Irish funeral practices.

• The hammering folktale retold with an Irish accent (41:48–44:47), inviting both supernatural and scientific interpretations, encapsulates the blend of skepticism and belief that characterizes the show.

Tone & Language

• The tone is warm, irreverent, and vividly descriptive, blending historical authority with humor and personal anecdotes.
• The hosts use colloquialisms, witty banter, and playful teasing, especially regarding their own family practices, the oddness/appeal of traditions, and their own experience with Irish drink.

For Listeners: Why This Episode Matters

Even if you haven’t experienced an Irish funeral, this episode opens a window onto a culture where death is met not with quiet distance, but with noise, ritual, community, and a willingness to face the darkness together. It explores not just what people do, but why they do it—how rituals evolve, why authorities fear them, and how folklore and superstition support us in the hardest moments of life.

Further Exploration

• Watch vintage recordings of keening women on YouTube ([07:12])
• Explore Ireland’s digital obituary boards at [Rip.ie] ([30:56])
• For more on the Irish origins of Halloween, check last year’s Halloween special ([45:04])

To suggest episodes or share your own Irish funeral stories, contact afterdark@historyhit.com.