Finding moving or thoughtful words for those who have passed away isn’t easy. When we face a funeral of a loved one it can be incredibly emotional, and we want something that reflects that.
The Irish have always been known for their writers and poets. But it extends further than just those who’s profession it is. The Irish, generally, are great with words.
So it makes sense to use an Irish blessing for a funeral reading or eulogy.
Prayers and blessings for the death of a loved one are commonplace at a funeral and a lovely way to pay your respects.
So if you’re looking for to make your eulogy extra special and really moving try these Irish blessings and prayers.
Irish Blessings for Death
May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back.
May the sunshine warm upon your face.
May the rains fall upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of His hand.
********************************
May each day have its own wonder and rebirth,
Its molding of new life from unwilling clay,
Its springing in surprise from reluctant earth,
Its hint of victory on final Judgment Day,
And may the God of daily resurrections bless you,
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
********************************
May the blessings of light be upon you,
Light without and light within.
And in all your comings and goings,
May you ever have a kindly greeting
From them you meet on the road.
********************************
Death leaves a heartache
no one can heal;
Love leaves a memory
no one can steal.
********************************
Until we meet again,
may God Hold you
in the palm of his hand.
********************************
I pray that you will have the blessing of being consoled…
May you know in your soul that there is no need to be afraid.
When your time comes, may you be given every blessing and shelter that you need.
May there be a beautiful welcome for you in the home that you are going to.
You are not going somewhere strange.
You are going back to the home that you never left.
May you have a wonderful urgency to live your life to the full.
May you live compassionately and creatively and transfigure everything
that is negative within you and about you.
When you come to die may it be after a long life.
May you be peaceful and happy and in the presence of those who really care for you.
May your going be sheltered and your welcome assured.
May your soul smile in the embrace of your anam cara (soul friend).
********************************
Remembered Joy
Don’t grieve for me, for now I’m free!
I follow the plan God laid for me.
I saw His face, I heard His call,
I took His hand and left it all…
I could not stay another day,
To love, to laugh, to work or play;
Tasks left undone must stay that way.
And if my parting has left a void,
Then fill it with remembered joy.
A friendship shared, a laugh, a kiss…
Ah yes, these things I, too, shall miss.
My life’s been full, I’ve savored much:
Good times, good friends, a loved-one’s touch.
Perhaps my time seemed all too brief –
Don’t shorten yours with undue grief.
Be not burdened with tears of sorrow,
Enjoy the sunshine of the morrow.
********************************
Mothers (or fathers) hold their children’s hands for just a little while…
And their hearts forever.
********************************
Irish Prayers for Funerals
An Irish Funeral Prayer
Death is nothing at all.
It does not count.
I have only slipped away into the next room.
Everything remains as it was.
The old life that we lived so fondly together is untouched, unchanged.
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by the old familiar name.
Speak of me in the easy way which you always used.
Put no sorrow in your tone.
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes that we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household word that it always was.
Let it be spoken without effort
Life means all that it ever meant.
It is the same as it ever was.
There is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because
I am out of sight?
I am but waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near, just around the corner.
All is well. Nothing is hurt; nothing is lost.
One brief moment and all will be as it was before.
How we shall laugh at the trouble of parting, when we meet again.
********************************
Christ be with me,
be after me,
be before me,
and be at my right and left hand.
May everything I do be for Christ.
********************************
May the blessing of light be on you, light without and light within.
May the blessed sunlight shine on you like a great peat fire, so that stranger and friend may come and warm himself at it.
And may light shine out of the two eyes of you, like a candle set in the window of a house, bidding the wanderer come in out of the storm.
And may the blessing of the rain be on you, may it beat upon your Spirit and wash it fair and clean, and leave there a shining pool where the blue of Heaven shines, and sometimes a star.
And may the blessing of the earth be on you, soft under your feet as you pass along the roads, soft under you as you lie out on it, tired at the end of day; and may it rest easy over you when, at last, you lie out under it.
May it rest so lightly over you that your soul may be out from under it quickly; up and off and on its way to God.
And now may the Lord bless you, and bless you kindly.
********************************
St Colmcille,
Who suffered the pain and grief of exile,
watch over the children of Ireland,
scattered throughout the world.
Obtain for them solace and courage,
and keep them true to God
in every trial and temptation!
Amen.
********************************
We cannot share this sorrow
If we haven’t grieved a while.
Nor can we feel another’s joy
Until we’ve learned to smile.
For the test of the heart is trouble
And it always comes with years.
And the smile that is worth the praises of earth
Is the smile that shines through the tears.
********************************
May you see God’s light on the path ahead
When the road you walk is dark.
May you always hear,
Even in your hour of sorrow,
The gentle singing of the lark.
When times are hard may hardness
Never turn your heart to stone,
May you always remember
when the shadows fall –
You do not walk alone.
Funny Irish Sayings about Death
May you be in Heaven a full half hour afore the devil knows ye’re dead
********************************
‘Tis better to buy a small bouquet
And give to your friend this very day,
Than a bushel of roses white and red,
To lay on his coffin after he’s dead.
********************************
May the Good Lord Take a liking to you,
…but not too soon
********************************
Here’s to beefsteak when you’re hungry,
Whiskey when you’re dry,
All the women you’ll ever want,
And heaven when you die.
********************************
May the Lord keep you in His hand
and never close His fist too tight.
********************************
Hopefully you will have found one of these Irish blessings and prayers suitable for a funeral reading or eulogy, or for remembering a loved one who has passed away.
