Generally speaking, funerals are thought of as solemn occasions. Even when someone requests that their send-off be a celebration of their life, people still cry and express sadness at the loss. Nothing wrong with that—it’s hard to say goodbye to someone we care about.
Sometimes, though, a person manages to break through the heaviness of their own passing to make their mourners laugh. It takes some forethought—and a unique personality—to pull off such a feat, but when it happens it’s delightful.
One such feat was expertly executed by Shay Bradley, a Dublin grandfather and a prankster who literally had the last laugh when he prerecorded a message to be played while his family and friends gathered at his gravesite.
As mourners stood around the burial plot into which Bradley’s casket had been lowered, bagpipes started to play. Then suddenly, a voice called out “Hello?” followed by a knocking sound—seemingly coming from the casket.
The knocking continued, as Bradley called out “Hello? Hello? Let me out, it’s f*cking dark in here! Let me out. Is that the priest I can hear?”
Bradley’s f-bomb-laced recording making it sound like he was alive in his casket made his loved ones laugh. And when he launched into a rendition of Neil Diamond’s “Hello Again,” even those who appeared reticent to laugh at least cracked a smile.
Bradley’s daughter Andrea originally shared the video on Facebook, writing “My dad’s dying wish, always the pranksters, ya got them good Poppabear. And gave us all a laugh just when we needed it!!”
Bradley’s wife, Anne Bradley, told Bored Panda that he had made the recording over a year before he died, but she didn’t know about it until the day before the funeral. Only the closest family members knew it was going to happen, so most were caught by surprise.
“Shay was a prankster, always thought outside the box and wanted to leave his family laughing,” Anne said. “He was a larger than life character and sadly missed by anyone who knew him,” she concluded.
The video originally went viral in 2019 but has gotten new life thanks to shares on TikTok and Reddit this week. People love the story for the message it sends: Go out making people smile.
“This dude gets it,” wrote one Reddit commenter. “I want my funeral to be a party so people remember the good times.”
“He went out with laughter,” wrote another, “that’s a gift not every person can have.”
“This made me cry because it is such a selfless act to want to comfort your loved ones with humor one last time,” wrote a TikTok commenter. “I’m sure they miss him deeply.”
Indeed. Humor can help people cope with grief. What a gift to his friends and family to make them laugh in remembrance as they bid him farewell.
Source: https://www.upworthy.com/irish-man-recording-humor-at-funeral