Grandpa was being mourned by family at his funeral. Then they heard a ‘hello’ coming from his coffin

[Special thanks to Laura Galvan (Attorney, San Antonio, Texas) for bringing this article to my attention.]

Who doesn’t love a good old prank? But nobody expected this Irish grandpa to pull off the ultimate prank after he passed away. Shay Bradley, a Dublin native, was famous amongst his family and peers as a wholesome prankster who enjoyed making his loved ones laugh when he was alive. So when he died in 2019, Bradley decided to give everybody one last chuckle from beyond the grave. Bradley crafted an impeccable prank before his death that ultimately stunned the mourners at his funeral, reported Dublin Live.

Bradley, a grandfather of eight, decided to record his voice to be played at his funeral when he died. A clip posted on X by one of his grandchildren, Ben (@Ben_Bradley22), showed the day Bradley’s friends and family gathered to mourn him at a south Dublin cemetery. All of a sudden, the bagpipe music stopped, and a familiar voice seemingly began to echo out of Bradley’s grave.

The voice at the funeral gives the impression of Bradley trying to escape from his grave. People could hear repeated banging noises from what appeared to be the inside of the coffin. “Hello? It is dark in here. Let me out. I can hear you. Is that the priest I can hear? I am in the box, can you hear that?” the pre-recorded message from Bradley floated around the cemetery to bring a flicker of joy to his mourning relatives as they heard him again.

His daughter Andrea (@Andrea36496119 on X) decided to elaborate on his prank video and audio to the online community. “Here is a picture of the legend himself. My dad, Shay Bradley. It was his dying wish that we play this at his funeral. What a man. To make us all laugh when we were incredibly sad. He was a man for one man. Love you forever, Poppabear #Shayslastlaugh,” she shared on her X handle alongside a picture of Bradley with a smile on his face and a glass of wine in his hand. As much as humor in bereavement is a quirky personal preference, it’s also supported by psychological research. A scoping literature review in Current Psychology found that humor is commonly used by grieving individuals and can aid emotional recovery by lifting spirits and helping cope with sorrow.

For more information see Rima Biswas “Grandpa was being mourned by family at his funeral. Then they heard a ‘hello’ coming from his coffin,” Scoop UpWorthy, October 27, 2025.