24 hours
The rental is 24 hours, so the pub can arrive the evening before and leave the morning after. Nothing is rushed, and nobody is watching the clock.
Celebrations of life
An Irish Wake, or a Celebration of Life, With the Pub at the Door
A quiet room, a bar, and somewhere for the stories to be told.
Sorry for your trouble
An Irish wake is a gathering, not a service. The door is open, there is food and drink, and the people who loved someone sit together and talk about them, late into the night. We bring a real Irish pub to your home or venue so that a wake or a celebration of life here can have the room it would have had in Ireland: a bar, a snug, and somewhere for the stories to be told.
We set it up quietly, it stays for 24 hours, and we take it away again when you are done. You can run the bar yourselves or have our bartenders from Ireland pour, so that nobody in the family has to. We are based in Plymouth and travel across the South Shore, Cape Cod, Greater Boston and New England.
Send us a note or call (508) 322-1298.
The snug Irish wake traditions
What an Irish wake is
Traditionally, an Irish wake took place in the family home over the day or two between a death and the funeral. The person who had died was laid out in the house, usually in the parlour or their own bedroom, with candles lit beside them. Someone sat with them at every hour; they were never left alone.
The door of the house was left open, or unlocked, and neighbours came and went through the day and the night. People shook hands with the family and said the same words everyone says: sorry for your trouble. The clocks in the house were often stopped at the hour of death and the mirrors covered or turned to the wall.
There was always food and drink. Tea, sandwiches and cake came out of every kitchen on the road, and there was whiskey and stout for those who wanted it. In older times there were clay pipes and snuff on a plate by the door. The women of the house, or women brought in for it, might keen — the caoineadh, a sung lament — though that custom has largely passed.
As the night wore on, the house filled with stories. People told the ones they knew about the person who had died, and the laughing and the crying happened in the same room, often in the same minute. There was music if there was a musician, and there were songs whether there was or not. The rosary was said, usually around midnight, and then the talking started again.
On the evening before the funeral came the removal: the coffin was carried from the house to the church, with the neighbours lining the road and walking behind. The funeral Mass was the next morning, then the burial, and then everyone went back to the house, a hotel or a pub for food and drink. That last part is where a celebration of life comes from.
Today many wakes in Ireland are held at a funeral home rather than at home, especially in the towns, but the gathering itself has not changed. People still come, still stay, still eat and drink, and still tell the stories. It is widely thought to be one of the healthier ways of grieving there is, because nobody does it alone.
Seats 16 How it works today
A celebration of life with the pub works like this: The Síbín is towed to your home or to the venue, set up quietly, and left with you for 24 hours. It can be in place the evening before, so that when people start arriving after the funeral the bar is already open and the stove is already lit.
Inside there is a working bar, a snug that seats a few people close together, a stove heater and AC, and a smart TV and sound system for photographs and for their music. The walls carry real Irish history — Dáil Éireann bonds, a Daniel O’Connell signature and a 1916 Irish Volunteer newspaper — which gives people something to look at and talk about when they need a minute.
For a larger gathering there is The Aer, an inflatable Irish pub that holds 25–30 and stands on a lawn or a driveway. See inside The Síbín for the full detail of the room.
Celebration of life ideas
Borrowed from home
Celebration of life ideas do not need to be elaborate. The ones that work are the ones an Irish wake has always used. A table of photographs by the door, and the smart TV showing more of them. Their music, through the sound system, at a volume people can talk over. One person asked to tell one story, which gives everyone else permission to tell theirs. A toast at a set time, so the people who have to leave early are there for it.
Food comes from the family, the neighbours or a caterer — we do not do food, and a wake table is better for being home-made anyway. The bar is for whatever they drank, and for the pot of tea that an Irish wake runs on.
And the snug. A snug is the small, partly closed room off the bar that Irish pubs built for the people who wanted to be in the pub without being in the middle of it. At a wake it is where the widow sits, or the person who has not slept, with two or three others and the door half shut. Read more about the snug — it is the reason we think the pub belongs at a wake at all.
Practical notes
What you need to know
Set up and taken away quietly
We deliver, set up and collect. We arrive when you tell us to, keep out of the way, and take everything with us when it is over. The family has nothing to break down.
Staffed or dry hire
Run the bar yourselves, or have our bartenders from Ireland pour. They are TIPS-certified and insured, from $499 for 4 hours, and they understand the occasion. The two options, compared.
- The Síbín needs level ground about the size of a parking space, vehicle access and a power outlet within reach.
- The Aer needs a flat four-metre square and continuous power for its blower.
- Delivery inside the Plymouth area is included. Beyond it, we tell you the delivery fee before you decide.
- Glassware, outdoor seating, a water station and a generator can be added if the site needs them.
Whenever suits
Nobody should have to do this alone, and in Ireland nobody does.— the door is open
or call (508) 322-1298
FAQ
Questions families ask
What is the difference between an Irish wake and a celebration of life?
An Irish wake is the gathering in the days before a funeral, traditionally at the family home with the person who has died present. A celebration of life usually comes afterwards, sometimes weeks or months later, and is about the person rather than the funeral itself. In practice the two share the same heart: people together, food and drink, music and stories. The pub suits either one.
Can we hold a celebration of life at home?
Yes, and most people do. The Síbín needs roughly the footprint of a parking space on level ground, with vehicle access and a power outlet within reach. The Aer needs a flat four-metre square and continuous power for its blower. A driveway or a lawn is usually enough. If you are not sure, send us a photo of the spot and we will tell you.
Do you supply the drink?
We never sell alcohol. The family supplies whatever is wanted — tea and coffee as much as stout and whiskey — and the pub provides the bar to serve it from: two draft lines with keg setup and beer gas, bottle and wine coolers and a sink. You can run the bar yourselves, or our bartenders from Ireland can pour so that nobody in the family has to. Rules vary by town — check with your local licensing board; our guide lists the questions to ask.
How much does it cost?
The Síbín is $997 for 24 hours Monday to Thursday and $1,200 Friday to Sunday. The Aer is $500 for 24 hours, any day. Bartenders from Ireland start at $499 for a 4-hour event. Delivery inside the Plymouth area is included; beyond it we quote the fee up front. The pricing page has the detail, and we are happy to go through it on the phone.
How much notice do you need?
We understand that a wake is rarely planned far ahead. Call us on (508) 322-1298 — the phone is the quickest way — and if the pub is free we will do everything we can to have it with you in time. A celebration of life held later on can be booked like any other date.
No rush
When you’re ready, we’re here
Call or send a note, and tell us as much or as little as you like. We will take it from there.