THE DAUGHTER of the dearly departed Irishman who had mourners in stitches at his own funeral with an inspired prank recording from “beyond the grave” has revealed how her late father came up with the idea more than a year earlier.
Shay Bradley’s darkly comic joke has proven a hit on social media, with a clip from his funeral service going viral on Facebook, Reddit, and Twitter.
The perfect showcase of the Irish sense of humour, Shay’s daughter Andrea revealed to Dublin Live how the prank was in keeping with her dad’s outlook on life, describing him as a “real jovial character”.
According to Andrea, Shay came up with the idea one afternoon roughly a year ago while with her and her brother Jonathan.
The Irish father-of-four bravely battled against cancer for the final three years of his life but never lost his sense of humour throughout the process.
When it came to his own mortality, Shay continued to look on the bright side of life, coming up with the idea of making a voice recording that would terrifying mourners into believing he was still alive inside his coffin.
“They were having the craic and joking and my dad just said ‘put your phone on the table and start recording’,” Andrea explained.
“And he recorded the message. It took just one take because he was just naturally that funny.
“Dad made Jonathan promise not to show any of us until days before the funeral. He specified ‘tell mam but tell her she’s not allowed to stop it”.
When it came to the sad day of Shay’s funeral, Andrea and her brother ensured his last joke went off without a hitch – and the reactions of those in attendance did not disappoint.
Andrea told Dublin Live: “My brother presses play on the speaker. Next thing, people can hear dad saying ‘hello’ and a noise that sounded like someone knocking on the coffin.
“Everyone was in disbelief for a couple of seconds. He kept roaring “let me out” and “can you hear me?” For a moment, he had fooled everyone just like he wanted”.
The best reaction apparently came from Shay’s surviving sister Rose, who remarked to Andrea: “'It’s a good thing he’s dead because I’d have killed him’”.
“That reaction would have pleased him the most,” she said.
The gag and success of the viral video chronicling Shay’s efforts stand as testimony to his life and the adoration and respect he enjoyed among his friends and family.
“He fought a hard battle,” Shay said. “He went through lots of chemotherapy and surgery. As recent as Easter of this year, he had surgery on his brain but he never lost his jovial-like character".
