Watch: A farewell to a dead woman while maintaining social distancing in an Irish town
The parish was not allowed to congregate at the church.
Yesterday we buried a lovely woman. Due to #Covid19 there was no wake & our community couldn’t enter the church.
— Seán Mac an tSíthigh (@Buailtin) March 20, 2020
But the entire parish came out & lined the 2km road to graveyard to say goodbye to Betty Ryan.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine #WestKerry pic.twitter.com/Sns99qUSad
County Kerry in Southwest Ireland saw an unusual wake in remembrance of a member of the local community, Betty Ryan. The community was unable to hold the usual wake at a church owing to restrictions on gathering that are in place to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. However, they found a way to pay their respects.
The people of the parish lined a two kilometre road leading up to her grave, maintaining a safe distance from one another throughout. Social media users have responded to the video expressing love and respect for the West Kerry community.
Made me cry to think of all the ones who are going to die over the next few weeks and no proper send off. Utter respect for this community. R.I.P Betty Ryan #WestKerry https://t.co/cz8BCIkIVz
— Fiona Nelson (@Fionanel) March 20, 2020
When a community stands together in the face of a pandemic #COVID19 @rtenews @thejournal_ie #westkerry @IrishTimes @irishexaminer https://t.co/L5yfZlR3ji
— Green our Planet (@george10805954) March 20, 2020
Beyond proud of our neighbours & friends who care out yesterday to give Betty a lovely send off #westkerry #StrongerTogether https://t.co/fyQyIbBbPw
— Orla Coughlan (@OrlaCoughlan) March 20, 2020
The social distancing is amazingly observed and a respectful tribute to the lady that died. RIP Betty.
— Colm Griffin (@GriffinColm) March 20, 2020