CHAPTER THREE.
Most of the homes in the Quarry had at least one holy picture of
the Blessed Virgin hanging on the wall. The usual ones were;
'Mother of Sorrows'; 'Mother of Perpetual Succour'; 'Our Lady of
Lourdes', and 'Our Lady of Fatima.' Many families had a holy
picture of 'The Immaculate Heart of Mary' hanging in a prominent
place in the kitchen. This was a picture of the Blessed Virgin,
with her heart exposed. A light was kept burning, day and night,
beneath the picture. My grandparents kept a paraffin lamp with a
blue globe lighting as a token of their veneration of Mary.
Parents were encouraged to dedicate their families to the
Immaculate Heart of Mary. A special 'Prayer of Consecration' was
recited by the parents, and the older children. Part of this
prayer was as follows; "In the presence of all the heavenly
court I choose thee this day, for my Mother and Mistress. I
deliver and consecrate to thee, as thy slave, my body and soul,
my goods, both interior and exterior, and even the value of all
my good actions, past, present and future, leaving to thee the
entire and full right of disposing of me, and all that belongs to
me, without exception, according to thy good pleasure, for the
greater glory of God, in time and in eternity. Amen."
My grandparents, like the other parents who had dedicated their
families to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, believed Our Lady was
their Heavenly Mother and, as such, would protect them from all
danger in this life, and Intercede for them in Heaven, thereby
guaranteeing their salvation.
The month of May was set aside each year as a time of special
devotion to Mary. In most homes, a May Altar was erected. This
consisted of a Holy picture of the Blessed Virgin, which was
usually placed in the front window of the house. The picture was
decorated with blue and white ribbons. After school, the children
were sent through the fields to pick wild flowers, usually
primroses or cowslips, and these were placed on the altar. It was
vital that only fresh flowers be used, so the children were kept
busy 'picking flowers for Our Lady'. Blue and white flags were
flown from the windows of many of the houses, and some of the
shop windows were also decorated with these colours.
Throughout the month, special services were held in the
Cathedral, to give the people, as a congregation, the opportunity
to venerate, worship, and pray to Mary. People also had the
opportunity to write out their petitions and put them in a
special Petition Box, which was placed in front of the Blessed
Virgin's altar in the Cathedral. Some of the petitions were read
out at the special services, and at the Masses on Sundays. Much
prayer was then made to Our Lady, as the people sought her
intercession.
A May Procession was held in Thurles each year. Usually, a
large statue of Mary was carried on the shoulders of four men.
Members of the Legion of Mary, the Blue Army of Fatima, the Holy
Family Confraternity, the F.C.A., the Catholic Boy Scouts, along
with members of a number of other organisations, joined with many
hundreds of the local people to march behind the statue. The
school teachers would have all their classes organised for the
march. The boys who had received their First Communion or
Confirmation that year, all marched together, dressed in their
new suits. The girls wore their white Communion frocks, or the
school uniform and veil they had worn on Confirmation day.
The route of the procession was usually from the Cathedral to
St. Patrick's College. After walking through the picturesque
grounds of the College, singing hymns to Mary, and reciting the
Rosary and the Litany, the marchers would then return to the
Cathedral, where more prayers and hymns were offered in honour of
the Blessed Virgin.
The veneration and worship of Mary, affectionately called Our
Lady, certainly played a prominent part in the lives of the
people who lived in the Quarry.
CHAPTER FOUR.
When my Grandparents were rearing their family, a lot of the
people who lived in Thurles were poor. Many had large families,
and found it very hard to make ends meet. Those who were lucky
enough to be employed worked for very small wages, and the ones
who were unemployed existed on a pittance of a subsistence
allowance.
The residents of the Quarry were noted for their
neighbourliness, and always helped each other out by sharing the
little that they had. This was especially evident when someone in
the street, who was poverty - stricken, died. A relative of the
deceased would go from door to door with a can or small box,
asking all the neighbours to contribute whatever amount they
could afford, towards the cost of the funeral. The undertaker
usually allowed the family to pay off the funeral expenses in
instalments over a period of time.
When a person died at home, the wake was held in the house.
There were always a couple of men and women who were noted for
the way they could prepare a corpse for the wake, and these would
be called upon to ensure the deceased was `well turned out' for
the big occasion. Some of them were so good at the job that it
was often remarked that the corpse looked better at the wake than
when alive!
Devotion to Our Lady was always very evident at the wakes.
Many of the corpses would have a Miraculous Medal pinned to their
burial shroud. On this medal was inscribed an image of the
Blessed Virgin, along with the words, "O Mary, conceived
without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." The
Miraculous Medal was worn by a lot of the people of that
generation. Some wore it on a blue string around the neck. Others
had it pinned to their clothing, or carried it in a wallet or
purse. The medal was carried by the worshippers of Mary as a mark
of identification, and as a means of protection against
accidents, illness, and various misfortunes. It was considered to
be of great benefit to be wearing this medal when dying.
If a deceased woman had been a member of the Legion of Mary,
or the Blue Army of Fatima, she may be dressed in a blue and
white burial shroud and possibly wear a veil, at her wake. People
took it in turns to lead the recitation of the Rosary, which was
said many times during the wake. Much prayer ascended to the
Blessed Virgin requesting her Mediation on behalf of the
deceased.
There were usually no complications concerning the wake, but
sometimes the removal of the corpse from the house was not always
straightforward. Some of the houses in the Quarry were of the
'two up and two down' design. This meant they had two rooms
downstairs, a kitchen and a parlour. Above these rooms were two
bedrooms, which were reached by a stairs leading from the
kitchen. The stairs was in two parts, with a very sharp turn on
it. This made it very difficult to move any furniture up or down
the stairs.
The difficulties encountered as a result of the design of the
stairs were especially evident when a resident of one of these
houses died at home, in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The corpse
was usually waked in its own bed, and would not be coffined until
it was time for the first stage of the funeral. It would be very
difficult to bring a coffin up or down the stairs so, in some
cases the window frame in the bedroom had to be removed. Some of
the men from the neighbourhood then lifted the coffin up to the
window, and it was taken in to the 'wake room', where the
undertaker and his assistant placed the corpse in the coffin, and
the immediate family was given the opportunity to say their last
farewells to the deceased before the lid was put in place. The
next stage of the proceedings was very difficult, as the coffin
had to be lifted out through the window, and lowered to the men
waiting in the street below. The hearse then proceeded to the
Cathedral, followed by family, friends and neighbours, usually on
foot. The coffin was carried in to the mortuary and, after one of
the priests had said the prayers for the dead, and led the
congregation in the recitation of the Rosary, the corpse was left
overnight in the Cathedral.
The following morning, Mass for the dead was said. The name of
the deceased was mentioned a number of times during this Mass,
and much prayer ascended for his or her salvation. The `Dead
Bell' could be heard ringing while the funeral cortege proceeded
up through the Quarry to the cemetery. There, the priest would
again say prayers for the dead, and lead the mourners in a decade
of the Rosary for the repose of the soul of the deceased. The
prayer which was most often repeated during the wake, and the
Mass for the dead, was the Hail Mary, for it implored the Blessed
Virgin's help and intercession for the departed soul.
It was especially comforting to a family who had just lost a
loved one, to believe that Our Lady had not only been present
with the person while they were dying, but that she was also now
interceding on their behalf for the forgiveness of their sins.
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