The Games the Irish Played at Wakes — and Why Nobody Thought It Was Strange

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Something happened at Irish wakes that most people have never heard about — and it wasn’t silence.

After the keening was done and the candles were lit, after the neighbours had paid their respects and the whiskey had been poured, the games began.

What an Irish Wake Actually Looked Like

Before funeral parlours arrived in Ireland, the dead were waked at home. The body lay in the main room, dressed in their best clothes, with candles burning at either side.

Neighbours came from every townland — sometimes walking miles through the dark. The gathering would last through the night, sometimes two nights. And solemnity alone cannot sustain a room full of exhausted, grief-stricken people for that long.

That’s where the games came in.

The Actual Games That Were Played

The games varied by county, but certain ones appeared across Ireland with remarkable consistency.

The Brogue was among the most popular. One person hid a shoe somewhere in the crowded room. The group would guide the seeker with sounds — growing louder as they got closer, quieter when they strayed. In a packed kitchen at two in the morning, it could dissolve the heaviness that grief brings.

Mock marriages were another fixture. Two people — often strangers who had never met — would be “wed” with great ceremony, complete with a pretend officiant and ring. The crowd treated it with solemn seriousness before collapsing into laughter.

There were riddle competitions. Arm-wrestling. Rhyming duels. Card games played in hushed voices beside the man who, hours ago, had been host of the house. None of it was considered disrespectful.

Why Laughter Was Part of the Ritual

The logic behind wake games wasn’t carelessness about death. It was the opposite.

In old Ireland, death was not sanitised or hidden. It sat in the room with you, literal and present. The games kept the living awake through the night, when the body could not be left unattended. They gave the frightened something to do with their hands and their minds.

They also drew the community together. The wake was not just about the dead — it was about the people left behind. There is a phrase, recorded from older Irish speakers in the twentieth century, that captures it: “You send them out the way they came in — with noise.”

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What the Church Thought About It

The Catholic Church was not pleased.

Documents from as early as the seventeenth century record complaints about “unseemly games” and “immodest behaviour” at Irish wakes. Synods throughout the 1600s, 1700s, and 1800s repeatedly condemned the practice. Priests were instructed to discourage it. None of it worked.

The tradition was too deep, too practical, and too human to be ended by pastoral letters. In remote western counties — parts of Mayo, Galway, Donegal — wake games continued well into the twentieth century.

The Church’s objection was rarely about the games themselves. It was about what sometimes followed: the intimacy between young people thrown together in the small hours of the morning. Wake games had a noted reputation as a setting for courtship. You can read about a connected tradition in our piece on the women Ireland once paid to keen, whose role the Church also tried — and failed — to suppress.

The Games That Lasted Longest

In Irish-speaking areas, certain games survived long after they had faded elsewhere.

The most distinctive was called An Marbh Beo — “The Living Dead.” One person lay perfectly still in imitation of the corpse while others moved around them, speaking as if they could not be seen. The “dead” person had to stay motionless no matter what was said or done nearby. It tested nerve and composure — qualities the Irish, it seems, felt needed practising.

Other games used rhyme, rhythm, or physical challenge in ways designed to tire the body and keep eyes open. The point was simply to make it through the night. You can trace a line between these wake games and the broader tradition of community gathering after dark — the session in the pub corner, the crowd at a crossroads on a summer evening. All of them were about people enduring together through the long hours.

The Tradition That Faded Without Announcement

Wake games didn’t disappear all at once. They faded as funeral parlours moved the dead out of the home. Roads improved, and neighbours no longer needed to spend the whole night. Mourning became more formal, more private, more like the rest of the English-speaking world.

But some families still hold a proper wake at home. In parts of the west, the house still fills with people who stay till dawn. And if you mention to an elderly neighbour that you once heard Irish wakes used to involve games, they might smile in a way that tells you they’re not something they only read about.

Ireland has always sent its dead out the way it welcomed its living — with company, noise, and the particular comfort of everyone in the room knowing that death, for now, belongs to someone else.

To find the parts of Ireland where these traditions ran deepest, our Ireland travel planning guide can help you discover the west and northwest, where the old ways still echo loudest.

Secure Your Dream Irish Experience Before It’s Gone!

Planning a trip to Ireland? Don’t let sold-out tours or packed attractions spoil your journey. Iconic experiences like visiting the Cliffs of Moher, exploring the Rock of Cashel, or enjoying a guided walk through Ireland’s ancient past often sell out quickly—especially during peak travel seasons.

Booking in advance guarantees your place and ensures you can fully immerse yourself in the rich culture and breathtaking scenery without stress or disappointment. You’ll also free up time to explore Ireland’s hidden gems and savour those authentic moments that make your trip truly special.

Make the most of your journey—start planning today and secure those must-do experiences before they’re gone!

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