Hearse and coffin both went missing

September 1984

Stranger than fiction is the only way to describe the experience of Wexford undertaker, Paddy Mulligan, when he travelled to England for a funeral assignment last week.

Paddy, who also runs a bar at North Main Street, drove his hearse up to the Kingston Hospital in Surrey to collect the remains of a man who was to be buried in Marshalstown.

He parked the hearse containing the coffin in the grounds of the hospital, and arranged to meet the local coroner the following morning at 8.30 a.m.

Paddy retired to a hotel for the night and after a hearty breakfast the next morning, made his way to the hospital – only to discover that the hearse and coffin had been stolen during the night!

‘I never got such a shock in my life. I was due to catch the 3 o’clock boat back to Rosslare that afternoon, and there I was, with no hearse or coffin,’ Paddy said.

A distraught Paddy immediately contacted Scotland Yard, who sent a police officer to the scene.

‘He didn’t stop laughing for about a quarter of an hour when I told him the story. I don’t think he believed me at first. In fairness, it was a very unusual situation,’ Paddy related.

But there was nothing to do but engage the assistance of the nearest undertaker in the area. This was done, and Paddy was supplied with a hired hearse and a new coffin.

The remains were collected and the return boat caught in the nick of time. The funeral arrangements were saved and the family were happy enough, even after Paddy had recounted his tale. But the story does not end there. Paddy received a phone call twenty-four hours later from a Paddy Healy in Peckham, who asked him if he was the owner of a hearse which had been abandoned down the road.

Sure enough, it was the self-same hearse. Nothing would do Mr Healy but to offer to take the hearse to Ireland.

Coincidentally, he and his wife were travelling over for a holiday, and he said it would be no problem to take the hearse and coffin along on their journey.

At this stage, bureaucracy entered the plan however. Scotland Yard had forms to sign before releasing the vehicle, and only Paddy’s signature would do.

So Paddy has just returned from a second trip to England.

He travelled over on Monday night, and arrived back in Wexford, both tired and weary, late on Tuesday.

The hearse and coffin were intact and nothing was missing except a bottle of duty-free Scotch whisky which Paddy had purchased on the original journey.

‘It was perfect when I got it back,’ he said. ‘Whoever took it must have had a key that fit the lock.’