This is no Blarney, My Dad’s Ghost Visited Us on St. Patrick’s Day
I retell this story on the anniversary of when this happened to my family, and that happens to be St. Patrick’s Day. It’s very appropo as my dad had a party every year to celebrate his heritage on this day.
Our family is of Irish descent, my dad was about as Irish as they come and every year as we were growing up he would throw a big party on St. Patrick’s Day. So when he died one of his requests was that we spread his ashes in the Atlantic Ocean off of the island he lived on for half the year in Florida on St. Patrick’s Day and have an Irish Wake. Every year on the anniversary of this event I retell this story, it’s a story of hope, and it really happened to us and I want to share it with you…
Today marks the 16th year anniversary since we spread my dad’s ashes in the Florida Keys as per his wishes on March 17, 2005. My father died suddenly at their house in Florida May 3, 2004. We had a St. Patrick’s Day memorial party in the afternoon at the house as dad had requested with all his friends, but none of my young nieces or nephews were there. The younger ones didn’t know why we were all in Florida, they thought we were just on a family vacation.
In the evening (about 9PM) the family (including the nieces and nephews) gathered on the patio to enjoy mom’s key lime pie and other desserts by CANDLELIGHT. My nephew Kevin (my sister gave me permission last year to use his name) was the only youngin’ to join us on the patio as the other kids ate inside watching TV. Kevin was a little over 2.5 years old (he had only met my dad about a handful of times as my parents lived fairly far away.)
He had never been to my parents house in Florida, and he was never in the backyard before this night (we all rented houses on a different parts of the island and had dinner at each others house the previous nights.)
AS we sat around the table on the patio enjoying each others company, two and ah half year old Kevin suddenly stands up and points into the darkness towards the water where my dad’s boat use to be docked (as it was given away after dad died) and states “POP-POP, boat.” He says this a few times. He goes on to say Pop-pop, minnow. “Pop-pop, home” “Pop-pop hello.” “No bait to fish” .
A very emotional Mom then asked me to go get a photo of dad and give it to Kevin’s dad. His dad pointed to the photo and says to Kevin , “Who is this? Kevin said Pop-pop.” Kevin where is pop-pop? said his dad; then Kevin pointed towards where the stern (back) of the boat would be, and where my dad spent many hours tinkering (I think the boat was 22 feet long and has a definite stern, middle and bow section). We were all sitting to the left, at the far right in the darkened part of the patio is a hammock that dad spent lots of hours on reading and snoozing).
As time went on, things got quiet and bob sat silent, my sister Tracy said to me that it was like the movie the Sixth-Sense, I leaned over to her and said “Can Kevin see dead people?”. (I don’t think Kevin heard me, but his mother came over and tapped me on the head and looked at me with a disapproving look.)
At this point kevin went on to play a game of stepping on someones toes, and then someone trying to step on his toes. This was a sight to see as he was clearly communicating and playing with someone (Pop-Pop?) as he was squealing in laughter and looking up. After a bit, as we were all sniffling and in a bit of shock, Kevin’s frazzled dad said it was late, and time to go, at that point the usually mild manner boy just burst out crying and actually threw himself on the ground backwards (not violently though). As his dad picked him up, Kevin turned 180 degrees towards the water, where the stern of the boat would have been, where my dad spent so many hours, and said bye pop-pop, bye as he blew Pop-pop a kiss good-bye
Dinner at my house 12/04 
Mom, Dad and Kevin 
Last photo of dad and I 
Dad delivered over 10,000 babies in his career
last photo of dad shortly before he died
We all know how blessed we are to have had this amazing experience. And for months following this incident, Kevin would occasionally see Pop-pop and announce it to his mom and once had his mom call Nana to tell her, but sightings haven’t occurred in about 2 years, and eventually he didn’t see pop pop anymore and really doesn’t remember him.
Always love hearing this story!
This is so amazing. My dad passed last year and he was very close with my nephews. Not long after his passing, the youngest had apparently said he saw pop and wished him good night. My mom still gets morning wake-ups from my dad, who was a habitual early riser, and even sometimes feels him in the bed with her. My husband, also a Jewish/Agnostic, tends to not believe this, but I know I’ve gotten signs from my dad, as well. There’s a lot in this world and this life that we will never understand, so it isn’t too far-fetched to believe that our loved ones visit after passing. Thank you for sharing this story, it gives me hope as we approach the one year anniversary of my dad’s passing next week.
Thank you so much for sharing this touching story. I have lost some very special loved ones and this helps me feel them near me and have hope that they hear me talk to them.
I definitely Believe!!! God is closest to the innocent little children!
This is an awesome story! I believe you. The children can see them. My daughter when she was about 2 yrs. (now 19) would talk about my Dad (he was very Irish as well) and tell us things about him that she wouldn’t have known. Even sing a song. He died 5 years before she was born. It went on for a few months and she doesn’t remember, but we all do. We are just glad he was with us. Happy St. Paddy’s day! 🍀
Yes, I agree. This certainly is an amazing story!! I have very recently lost my mom just this past January. Also, my dad back in 2009. We hadn’t had any visits until shortly before my mom became ill. That was sometime last summer. What happened was, I went to get something out of my mom’s closet, where by the way no one else ever entered. When I opened the sliding door there was her blue robe that had been missing for several years. It was a robe given to her by my dad. There it was hanging right out in plain sight along with two other articles of clothing that we hadn’t seen for a long time. Within a month or so my mom became ill. We believe that Dad was saying that he was there, and waiting for her.
Since that time we have had several other visits, but none like the one last night, the night of St. Patrick’s Day. I was half awake and half asleep and jumped with a start. There had been a very loud noise and I was certain what it was. It was the door in my mom’s bathroom. I knew that sound. Then I heard immediately afterwards footsteps across the rug. I was not afraid, but instead excited and, almost instantaneously, jumped out of bed and went into my mom’s bathroom and tested the door. Yep! I was most certainly right. It was the exact same sound, and pitch.
And that’s not all that happened last night. Afterwards, my two kitties came into the house and very tentatively investigated that bathroom and the front room as well. My adult cat, Pajamas, spent about 20 mins. in the bathroom and at least 30 in the front room.
I agree with so many of you who have written in response to this article. It is so very comforting to have had these visits; to know that my parents are still around and I can still talk to them.