Irishman gives mourners one last big laugh – at his own funeral

An Irishman had the last laugh at his own funeral when he could be heard shouting for help from inside his coffin.

When 63-year-old Shay Bradley knew he didn’t have long left he hatched a plan with his son that allowed him to revel in a touch of dark Irish humour for one last time.

Bradley, who is an Irish Defence Force veteran, arranged the prank as he wanted to make his wife laugh at his funeral.

He passed away in 2019, following a three-year battle with cancer. His son Jonathan then set about putting his plan into action.

Bradley left four children and eight grandchildren. They would have got quite the shock during his burial.

The mourners heard him shout: “Hello? Hello! Hello? Let me out! Where am I?

“Let me out, it’s dark in here. Let me out. I can hear you! Is that that priest I can hear?”

He gave everybody one last big laugh and the priest admitted he had never seen anything like it

Shay’s daughter Andrea told the Irish Independent: “He was an absolutely incredible man. And knowing how much this video has made so many people laugh, gives us all great comfort and happiness in our darkest days. It’s truly brightened all over hearts.

“This message was his way to both say goodbye, and to let us know, right, the sadness of today is over, go and celebrate the life I lived in a joyous way. He always filled every room with so much laughter. His stature was larger than life, but so was his personality.

“He struggled with cancer for three years and every single day through chemotherapy, radiation and multiple surgeries he was always smiling and laughing.

“He told my brother Jonathan, who recorded the audio with him, that one of the main reasons he done this was because he wanted to make sure my mam would be laughing leaving the cemetery, not crying. And he done just that.

“My uncle spoke to the priest afterwards, the priest just said he has done many funerals but has never seen anything like it.”

Take a look at the video below.

Written by Michael Kehoe @michaelcalling