Data from RIP.ie also revealed that people from two counties attend more funerals than average.
Ireland’s funeral habits have been revealed (Image: Getty images)
Mourners from Kerry attend the most funerals on average each year, a study has found. Data from RIP.ie also revealed that people from Limerick and Tipperary attend more funerals than average.
On average, Irish people go to five a year, but those in the capital attend the fewest. Nearly 30% of those quizzed from the Kingdom say they’ve been to more than 10 funerals in the last year.
Richie Kelly, who is head of RIP.ie, said: ““It’s clear that people from outside Dublin go to more funerals. For example, in Connacht the average over the past 12 months is six while in Dublin its three. In Leinster as a whole its four.
“While 83% believe funerals should be a celebration of the person’s life, a significant minority, almost a fifth believe black should be worn where possible while the same number said a funeral should always be a formal, sombre event.
“When we broke it down by county it appears more people in Tipperary favour a traditional approach towards funerals.
“In that county 76% agree that funerals should be a celebration of life – the lowest number – while 25% believe black should always be worn and 23% believe a funeral should always be a formal sombre event. “
In a wide-ranging survey, to mark 20 years of RIP.ie, boffins also revealed that 92% of respondents said the families of loved ones should be able to deliver a eulogy at a funeral.
Most believe they should be between six-10 minutes in length, while 41% said these remarks should be curtailed to under five minutes. Eulogies have become divisive amongst Catholics as several dioceses do not allow them.
Mr Kelly added: “Among the many questions in our survey this generated one of the highest and clearest majorities.
“In some parts of the country, it was even higher, with 95% of respondents in Munster supporting the right to a eulogy during the funeral service.
“It’s clear that the vast majority support the right to deliver a short tribute about their loved ones and an opportunity to say goodbye to them in their own words. Hopefully, these findings will contribute to an informed debate on the issue.
“However, the introduction of time guidelines would be important.
“While 86% of respondents believe the eulogy should be under ten minutes, 10% believe it should be 11 to 15 minutes, 2% believe it should be 16 to 20 minutes and 1% think it should be over 20 minutes.”
It also found that most funerals take place over the course of three days – with 84% declaring this was the right amount of time.
It comes as nearly all of the 3,387 quizzed said funeral traditions such as wakes and months mind masses are still important.
The study also revealed that 91% of those asked said people in Ireland are becoming more open to talking about death and grief.
Meanwhile, 50% said they had just thought about their funeral plans, 14% had made plans while 36% hadn’t done anything.
Predominantly, most said they want a religious ceremony, while 20% said they would consider a humanist/non-religious ceremony.
A further 12% also said they would skip the funeral altogether and go straight to a burial or cremation.
More people want to be buried than cremated, while 11% of those asked said they want to donate their body to science.
When asked questions about the afterlife, most said they believed in Heaven, while 14% said they believed in reincarnation.
Just 16% said they believed in hell, two percent more than ghosts at 14% – with 16% saying they believed in nothing.
Mr Kelly also revealed that the majority of Irish people think music or singing is a good way to close a funeral, with just 13% disagreeing.
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