Ep. 99 - The Best Death
Rattle his bones over the stones! He ’s only a pauper whom nobody owns!
Content Warning: This episode contains discussions of infant death and suicide.
Fr. Mathew on Upper O’Connell St.
Topics in this episode include an O’Connell St. history quiz, how Dermot was radicalized as a ten-year-old, the demise of Nelson’s pillar, the floozie in the jacuzzi, Paddy’s adelite face (or was it adelaide?), John Barleycorn, the spiritual tragedy of a sudden death, last rites, extreme unction, Bloom’s lack of understanding about Catholic death rituals, Fr. Mathew, the remnants of Upper O’Connell St., the tractor in the photo to the left, the ghosts of O’Connell St., the absence of the Parnell monument, Bloom’s funeral color scheme, a possible cause for Rudy Bloom’s death, “The Pauper’s Drive”, Catholic stigma against suicide, Mr. Power puts his foot in his mouth, the kindness of Martin Cunningham, unbaptized infants in limbo, the death of Bloom’s father, aconite poisoning, the color purple, and Bloom’s lack of belief in an afterlife.
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Further Reading & Watching:
Beck, H. adelite - a delightful colour word? James Joyce Online Notes. Retrieved from https://www.jjon.org/joyce-s-words/a
Bowen, Z. (1974). Musical allusions in the works of James Joyce: Early poetry through Ulysses. Albany: State University of New York Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/y9erlwtw
Catholic Answers. (2017, Sep 5). Can People Who Commit Suicide Be Buried in a Catholic Cemetery? [Video]. https://youtu.be/sXFHMv3dCoc
Delany, J. (1908). Preparation for Death. In The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved December 3, 2022 from New Advent: http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04660c.htm
Fallon, D. (2022, Sept 1). 31 August 1913. Three Castles Burning. Retrieved from https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/31-august-1913/id1488547315?i=1000577972336
Farrell, G. (2020, April 1). The history of O’Connell Street. Dublin Town. Retrieved from https://www.dublintown.ie/the-history-of-oconnell-street/
Gifford, D., & Seidman, R. J. (1988). Ulysses annotated: Notes for James Joyce's Ulysses. Berkeley: University of California Press. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/vy6j4tk
Hepburn, A. (2014). The Irish Way of Dying: "Ulysses" and Funeral Processions. The Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, 38(1/2), 184-207. Retrieved March 15, 2021, from http://www.jstor.org/stable/43410728
Tsai, M. (2007, April 23). The end of Limbo. Slate. Retrieved from https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2007/04/what-happens-to-the-babies-who-used-to-be-in-limbo.html