Irish Music for Funerals, Wakes, Memorials, and Receptions
"Let us not look for you only in memory,
Where we would grow lonely without you.
You would want us to find you in presence,
Beside us when beauty brightens,
When kindness glows
And music echoes eternal tones"
- John O'Donohue (1956-2008)
Nothing fully prepares us for the loss of a loved one…
But as Irish Catholics, we believe that the separation of the immortal soul from our body only marks the beginning of a new eternal life with God, making full the circle of life here on earth.
Music is a universal experience – and amongst the Irish people, a cherished part of the fabric of our lives.
From childhood lullabies, learning to dance the jig or the ceili sets - learning to play the tin whistle - tuning in to the Irish radio programs or spinning the record player to hear recordings of mournful Irish airs, all the sad and happy songs along with the joyous tunes - followed by the late night sing-song – births, weddings, and alas, wakes and funerals are all a part of our music memories in the Irish community brought from Ireland and shared with the next generations in Chicagoland.
It is how I learned the music when I arrived here with my Dad, Jimmy “Horse” Keane from Connemara – and my Mom, Mary, from Kerry, in the 1960s. I was aided in no small part by learning from the wonderful Irish traditioanl musicians living here at the time along with my contemporaries Liz Carroll, Michael Flatley, Marty Fahey, and countless others in Chicago and beyond.
Thank you for your interest in having me perform music for the funeral mass. My condolences to you on the passing of your loved one. May they rest in peace…
Be well,
Jimmy Keane
Contact Jimmy Keane below or call/Text 607-301-0143
My friend and fellow musician Terry “Cuz” Teahan (1905-1989) wrote the following poem and inscribed it in a book he gave in 1987, just two years before he passed:
Of all the undertakers
Tom Ahern, you are the best.
When I finally pass away
You can lay me down to rest.
Calvary is my burying place,
Adjacent to the lake.
Be sure and plant me deep enough
So a walk I cannot take.
My funeral arrangements
Already have been made:
There will be no going back to restaurants
And no flowers, they always fade.
Instead I want “The Bunch of Keys”
Played by Jimmy Keane
With Marty, Liz and Michael
Bringing up the sweet refrain.
And if they play it good enough,
I might decide to shout.
If you are there, you narrowbacks,
Why don’t you let me out?