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The Good Death and the Materiality of Mourning: Nineteenth- to Twentieth-Century Coastal Ireland

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Abstract

Drawing on folklore, oral history, songs, historic ethnography, literature, and archaeology, this study investigates the economic, social, and material evidence of traditional late nineteenth- to early twentieth-century wakes along coastal Ireland through the lens of an archaeological case study on the island of Inishark. We analyze material practices of “good” and “bad” deaths, and explore the myriad ways that islanders used everyday material culture in mortuary rituals, particularly wakes and funerals. We argue that material culture could hold multiple symbolic valences throughout its history, especially everyday items used in ritual contexts. Finally, we describe the material residues associated with mourning practices on Inishark.

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Acknowledgments

The Cultural Landscapes of the Irish Coast project is an interdisciplinary and multi-institution project, including faculty, graduate students and undergraduate students from Ireland and America and representatives from eleven different universities, and most importantly, local Irish community partners. This research program has been funded by the John Tynan family, the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame, and the Office of Sponsored Research, University of Notre Dame. Documenting island life has been made possible by a long list of friends from Inishbofin, Inishark, and America. This includes S. Murray, A. Murray, M. Coyne, K. Concannon, T. Burke, P. Concannon, and L. Martellaro. This paper has developed through the constructive comments and discussions with A. Horning, R. Cashman, H. Mytum, C. Orser, and several anonymous reviewers. The research was conducted under National Monuments of Ireland license 10E0399. Finally, to all the islanders, including Teresa Lacey, John Concannon, and James and Patsy Coyne who helped us understand specific aspects of island life, and all your families, we are deeply thankful for letting us learn about, and sharing in, your history and heritage.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Anthropology, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Ian Kuijt & Meredith S. Chesson

  2. Independent Scholar, Arlington, VA, USA

    Sara Morrow

  3. Department of Irish Language & Literature, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Diarmuid Ó Giolláin

  4. Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 46556, USA

    Ryan Lash

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  1. Ian Kuijt
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Correspondence to Ian Kuijt.

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Kuijt, I., Chesson, M.S., Morrow, S. et al. The Good Death and the Materiality of Mourning: Nineteenth- to Twentieth-Century Coastal Ireland. Int J Histor Archaeol 25, 333–374 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10761-020-00557-5

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