I wake up to a beautiful, crisp, snow-clad morning. Looking out on the pristine scene I see a long black limousine parked outside our next-door neighbour’s gate. They are an elderly couple and the husband has been confined to a nursing home for the past nine months or so. I fear the worst. Shortly afterwards the wife emerges surrounded by four or five others – all dressed in black. I look up RIP.ie and my fears are confirmed. The poor man actually died three days ago. It’s an indication of how circumscribed our lives have become that we had no idea until the appearance of the ominous vehicle. The family were especially cautious about any external contact. Instead of having a celebration of a life well lived (as it certainly was in the case of this kind and intelligent man), he is dispatched in a manner that seems almost furtive. We watch the online service and hear the celebratory words but the communal solidarity is absent.
