See that spanking new Renault Twingo occupying the far-right corner of that bank’s left-hand entrance next to the Tesco garbage bin? Notice anything unusual?

Look closely. What appear to be random slabs of relatively upright concrete leaning against the fence surrounding the exit of the automated doors where you just bought your laundry detergent are actually the knocked about grave stones of Catholic clergymen, political leaders and various upstarts who somehow managed to get the British military’s knickers in a knot at one point or another. Apparently, it’s been ongoing for centuries.

Case in point is Croppie’s Acre. Used as a football pitch during the better part of the 20th century, it’s actually a mass grave and final resting place of hundreds of rebels executed in the 1798 rebellion.

The examples throughout Dublin’s history are irrefutable and regardless of which rebellion we’re talking about, the fact that city planners, builders and tradesmen over the past century have gone about their business letting bygones be bygones when it comes to final resting places leads me to conclude one thing: the Irish–whether Catholic or Protestant–are fearless when it comes to the dead. They treat them with the same irreverence as the living.

One need only wander over to Saint Michan’s Church within walking distance of Dublin’s Temple Bar district and if you’re oblivious enough to where you’re going, you’ll accidentally notice the old church’s funky architecture, thoughtlessly wander down a few flights of steps looking for a public loo and find yourself inadvertently brushing against the leathery arm of a mummified corpse, perfectly preserved due to lack of humidity, whose casket lid has accidentally been knocked off kilter and no one has complained about it, not even the occupant.

I think back to my conversation the other night with the author and biblical expert who argued that when you’re dead, you’re dead and you’re oblivious to all and everything for eternity.

I was hoping he was wrong, but after today, his theory is rather appealing.