Cuddled by Irish Pat, I perked up -- blessed memories! (8)
I believe the answer is:
epitaphs
'blessed memories' is the definition.
(an epitaph is written in memory of someone)
'cuddled by irish pat i perked up' is the wordplay.
'cuddled by' indicates a hidden word (the answer is embraced or held by the clue).
'up' says the letters should be written in reverse (in down clue: letters go upwards).
'shpatipe' can be found hidden inside 'irish pat i perked'.
'shpatipe' backwards is 'EPITAPHS'.
(Other definitions for epitaphs that I've seen before include "Words written in memory of the dead" , "Inscriptions on tombstones" , "Famous last words" , "Happiest sort of inscriptions on tombs" , "They're written in memory of people who have died" .)