The Price of Death: Materiality and Economy of 19th and 20th Century Funeral Wakes on the Periphery of Western Ireland.

Summary

What is the price of death?  Funeral wakes, at the intersection of religion, community, and material consumption, are one way to consider the connotation of marginal communities as representing national and local traditions and historic identity. The coastal islands of rural western Ireland have historically been presented as culturally isolated, economically disadvantaged, and geographically inaccessible. In the Western region, religious and local traditions surrounding death have been documented in literature and ethnography but have yet to be considered in an archaeological framework. Stemming from excavations on the islands of Inishbofin and Inishark, Co. Galway, Ireland, this paper focuses on the materiality of 19th and 20th century funeral wakes in relation to local island economies and access to consumer goods. In focusing on consumption practices associated with funeral wakes, we explore how islanders and rural mainlanders participated in a complex exchange of local, national, and international goods. 

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Life on the Edge: Past and Present Perceptions of People on the Margins   •
• Society for Historical Archaeology 2016

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Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): 752