When it comes to funerals, we generally expect a lot of people to be crying, overcome with the emotion and sadness of losing a loved one.
Of course, they often say that funerals should be a celebration of a person’s life, but that’s easier said than done when there’s a room full of heartbroken mourners.
Fortunately, one fella from Dublin, Ireland, decided to take matters into his own hands before he passed away, to ensure his funeral perfectly encapsulated his personality and hilarious wit.
Shay Bradley was laid to rest by his loving family last week, but as they lowered his coffin into the ground, they played out a pre-recorded message from Shay, designed to put a smile on the faces of everyone who had come to remember him.
Just as the coffin is lowered into the ground, the message begins with a ‘knock, knock, knock’ sound.
After the sound of bagpipes, Shay’s voice peers out of the recording, shouting ‘hello? … hello?!’ as if he were shouting from inside the coffin.
‘Let me out! Where the f*ck am I?!’ the recording continued, prompting Shay’s family to burst into fits of laughter, no doubt how they often were in his presence.
‘Hello, hello! Let me out, it’s f*cking dark in here,’ he continued to shout, ‘Where the f*ck am I? Is that that priest I can hear?’
The priest bowed his head with a faint smirk on his face upon hearing his name from beyond the grave, in probably one of the more unconventional funerals he’s performed.
A video of the hilarious yet incredibly heartwarming moment was shared to Twitter by Ciarán, who runs the account @Lucky2B1rish. Beneath the video, Shay’s daughter, Andrea, wrote: ‘My Poppabear. Thanks for sharing Ciaran #shayslastlaugh.’
What is overwhelmingly clear, from his family’s reaction, is that the clip perfectly summed up Shay’s personality, proving he’ll no doubt be a big miss among those who loved him.
There’s a couple of things to be learned here. Shay Bradley was quite clearly an absolute legend, and I reckon he was probably onto something.
Surely it’s far better to spend the day laughing and remembering your loved one’s humour and incredible character while mourning your loss.
What an incredible man.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677.
Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.