‘Time To Say Goodbye’ by Andrea Bocelli is the preferred funeral song of most Irish people, according to recent research.
AA Life Insurance Survey Results
A survey of over 4,000 Irish people undertaken by AA Life Insurance found that almost 1 in 5 of us (19.81%) would choose to have the Andrea Bocelli song played at our funeral. Also appearing high on the list of songs most likely to be played at an Irish funeral were “The Lord’s My Shepherd,” chosen by 13.73% of respondents and “What a Wonderful World” by Louis Armstrong (12.68%).
“I’m sure when we asked this question many of our customers probably found themselves wonder why, but there is a serious side to this aspect. Irish people are very skilled at avoiding the topic of death and doing what they can to get out of having awkward conversations about funeral arranges or what would happen if the main income earner was to die,” Conor Faughnan, AA Director of Consumer Affairs stated. “Thinking about these things is difficult but that doesn’t make it any less important. The cost of a funeral can put a lot of financial strain on your family who will already be going through a difficult time, but having the awkward conversations about arrangements and life insurance now instead of putting it off will at least help ease some of the burden.”
Aside from the expected choices, the survey also found that even in death many Irish people will opt to have a bit of humour at their funeral.
The AA Life Insurance survey found that 14.53% of respondents would opt for “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Monty Python’s ‘Life of Brian.’ Meanwhile, 2.38% of those surveyed stated that where were likely to opt for the ‘Countdown’ theme music to be played at their funeral.
“Funerals are going to, of course, be a tough time for our loved ones and, with this in mind, many of us will try to bring a smile to their faces with a touch of humour at our funeral. Although, while many of us will have thought about our arrangements privately, we’re still often reluctant to have open discussions about them with our family,” Faughnan added. “Don’t put these conversations off until it’s too late. Instead have them now to ensure not only that your wishes are met but that also your loved ones have a plan in place to ensure they can maintain their current standard of living if anything was to happen.”
