article

Bás inEirinn: cultural constructions of death in Ireland

Anthropology quarterly62 (4)Published In 1989 • Pages: 175-187

By: Taylor, Lawrence J..

AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
This article focuses on the different meanings of death held by the Irish Catholic Church and the local community. According to the author, death provides an opportunity for the church to enter into, and assert its power over, the local community. The more communal wake followed by a highly sociable gathering in the local pub is compared to the more official funeral that follows, presided over by a priest. The wake has ancient roots and expresses the unity and culture of the local community, whereas church rites recontextualize the event to capture the emotions around death as a way to affirm church doctrine.
SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
External migration
Community structure
Revolution
Life and death
Dying
Burial practices and funerals
Special burial practices and funerals
Religious denominations
Missions
cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
Rural Irish
HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
2016
RegionThe area the document pertains to
Europe
Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
British Isles
Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
article
Evaluation
Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
Ethnologist
Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
5: Excellent Primary Data
AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
Ian Skoggard; 2014
Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
1973, 1987-1987
Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
1986-1987
Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland
NotesAdditional notes
Lawrence J. Taylor
Includes bibliographical references (p. 186-187)
LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
32029126
LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
Ireland--Rural conditions