Hooley in the Kitchen
Last weekend, I attended the annual anniversary mass of two relatives of my wife in the village of Menlough in east Galway. What followed the evening mass was something really special that is uniquely Irish but is sadly fast disappearing from the experiences of the vast majority of our people.
After the church event, we returned to the former residency of the deceased couple Nora and Sonny Naughton. Though it is now no longer occupied, the family every year re-open the old farmhouse and invite all the relatives and neighbours to a 'hooley' in the kitchen.
The table was filled to overflowing with home-made fruit tarts, big pots of tea and lashings of drink. Brian and Katie's children then unpacked the violins and accordions and led the guests into a delightful evening of music and 'craic'.
There was no better way to honour the memory of the departed than to have the sounds of laughter and friendly banter from the 'nearest and dearest' once again reverberate through the old homestead.
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