In the context of these changes, my research aims to investigate some of the ways in which material culture, memory and imagined afterlives are mingled in the shaping and expression of emotions. Anthropological research has long been concerned with the forms through which a relationship with a significant person continues after death through communication, visits to the grave and offerings, all of which have roots in memories of shared experiences. In the case of the death of an infant around the time of birth, memories are often limited and the absence of future shared lives shapes the experience of the loss. The manner in which parents cope with this absence often seems to be through the creation of memories, embodied in objects. Material culture, especially in forms of gifts on the grave, seems also to reflect the way in which parents imagine the spirits of their babies in the afterlife (for example playing with toys, or growing old through time) and seems to play an important role in the ways in which parents fulfil the need of keeping on taking care of their babies

My research is therefore a study of contemporary Irish infantile death practices. An exploration of its forms of expression and contested practices leads directly into a consideration of some of the most important current changes in Irish culture and society, including the changing role of the Catholic Church, the ongoing development of popular culture, the impact of biomedical technology, and the still-evolving forms of the Irish family.