{"id":671786,"date":"2026-11-01T13:34:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T13:34:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/671786\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T13:34:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T13:34:12","slug":"evolution-of-the-irish-funeral-some-people-want-to-help-weave-their-own-coffin-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/671786\/","title":{"rendered":"Evolution of the Irish funeral: \u2018Some people want to help weave their own coffin\u2019 \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Irish funeral is a cornerstone of the nation but the nature of how we say goodbye to loved ones is evolving.<\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s wicker coffins, services at home or spiritual send-offs, new trends are starting to emerge alongside traditional ceremonies. <\/p>\n

But the biggest change is a shift towards cremations, which were once frowned upon in the Catholic Church<\/a>. Cremations now account for about 70 per cent of all funerals handled across the five Dublin cemeteries managed by Dublin Cemeteries Trust. Across the rest of the country, the proportion is estimated to be about 25-30 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cBurial is now the minority choice in Dublin,\u201d says Gus Nichols, managing director of Fanagans Funeral Directors. The first cremation in Ireland took place in 1982 and \u201cthere\u2019s now four crematoriums here in Dublin\u201d, he says<\/p>\n

Speaking at the company\u2019s Aungier Street office, he says he would like to think cost is not the main factor in this choice but acknowledges cremation is less expensive. <\/p>\n

\"GusGus Nichols of Fanagans Funeral Directors at their office on Aungier Street in Dublin. Photograph: Enda O’Dowd <\/p>\n

For families who already own a burial plot, the average charge to open a grave is about \u20ac1,000 \u2013 roughly double the cost of a cremation.<\/p>\n

Nichols says there are different types of burial sites: local authority\/public provision, trust\/charity provision and private provision.<\/p>\n

New plots in Shanganagh Cemetery (managed by D\u00fan Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council) cost about \u20ac2,900 plus associated service fees, plus \u20ac1,000 to open a grave <\/p>\n

Glasnevin Cemetery is a private, operational cemetery managed by the Dublin Cemeteries Trust, a registered charity. The price of a grave here ranges from \u20ac1,875 to \u20ac9,500, depending on the section and capacity of the plot. <\/p>\n

While this is a \u201clot of money\u201d, Nichols says it is \u201ca realistic charge for something that\u2019s going to be needed for 150 years. If you think about the lifetime of a family, the generation impact of a family, 100-150 years\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Funerals are the only aspect of Catholic life I engage with any moreOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

In privately owned cemeteries such as Kilternan and Glasnevin, prime grave sites can cost \u20ac12,000-\u20ac15,000. <\/p>\n

\u201cIf it\u2019s nicely designed and kept well, and people are prepared to pay for it because they see the long-term value with it, then people will make that decision to buy, but you\u2019re not forced to make that decision. <\/p>\n

\u201cAnd there are other options which are less than that. But undoubtedly, if you\u2019re looking and analysing funeral costs overall, if a family doesn\u2019t have a grave, the bill is always going to be higher,\u201d Nichols says.<\/p>\n

Costs for new grave sites outside Dublin range from about \u20ac260 to \u20ac1,600 for a standard single plot. <\/p>\n

While the Catholic Church lifted its ban on cremations in 1963, Nichols thinks it has taken a long while for devout Catholics to come around. Now traditional funeral services accompanied by cremations \u2013 either for burial in a grave plot or to be stored or scattered elsewhere \u2013 are far more common.<\/p>\n

\"AA solid eco pine coffin from Private Cremation in Mount Jerome Victorian Chapel. Photograph: Private Cremation <\/p>\n

Alan Massey, the owner and proprietor of Mount Jerome Cemetery and Crematorium in Harold\u2019s Cross, Dublin, feels the rising number of cremations is \u201cprimarily economic\u201d.<\/p>\n

An adult cremation fee at Mount Jerome is \u20ac490, with additional optional charges such as the use of the chapel for a service, which costs from \u20ac120.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re looking at \u20ac4,000-\u20ac5,000 for a coffin burial,\u201d Massey says. \u201cI would say it\u2019s economics [and] people becoming more secular. It is an urban\/rural divide: in the countryside churches often have graveyards beside them whereas in the city that\u2019s not the case.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0My English friend was shocked that I got drunk at my grandmother\u2019s funeralOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Mickey Doyle runs Private Cremation, a company that offers \u201clow-cost, compassionate and professional cremation\u201d. <\/p>\n

This starts at \u20ac1,950 for a private unattended cremation (which includes items such as transport of remains, a coffin, administration fees and the return of the ashes), while a bespoke cremation, including a service, costs \u20ac2,250. Prepaid plans for the services cost \u20ac2,750-\u20ac2,995. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere are 35,000 deaths a year and not all of them want a traditional funeral,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cPeople want different aspects, and we offer a simplified but beautiful service at an affordable cost.\u201d<\/p>\n

An Post Insurance\/Red C statistics put the average cost of a funeral in Ireland in 2024 at \u20ac6,252, up from \u20ac4,062 in 2016. Based on this trajectory, the average cost could hit \u20ac9,000 by 2036, according to Doyle.<\/p>\n

With this in mind, Doyle says the fixed price will not change. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt just gives people peace of mind. You never have to worry about rising prices.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"WestcountryWestcountry Willows: Kate and Alan Burrows. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin \"WestcountryWestcountry Willow: Kate and Alan Burrows make coffins created sustainable Irish willow grown on their own land. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin <\/p>\n

Further variety in funeral services in Ireland can be seen in the choice of coffin, with rising demand for biodegradable models.<\/p>\n

In Co Roscommon, husband and wife Alan and Kate Burrows set up their business Westcountry Willows in 2023.<\/p>\n

Kate explains that a win in the Irish Business Design Challenge Awards in 2023, which included a \u20ac15,000 prize, helped the couple to launch the business. Their hand-woven willow coffins range in price from \u20ac1,200 to \u20ac2,000.<\/p>\n

Kate has been weaving for years but when her mother opted for a wicker coffin, she saw it as a \u201cmore soft way to send off a loved one, almost like a nest\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI met a man in Cavan who was a basket maker and he made a coffin for somebody that I know. I asked him if he would teach me how to make coffins. Eddie McGrath was his name and he was taught to make coffins in Somerset. <\/p>\n

\u201cHere I am, from Somerset living in Ireland, and I learned how to do it from an Irishman who had learned it in Somerset.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"KateKate Burrows making a coffin. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin <\/p>\n

Kate and Alan soon found \u201ca calling\u201d in willow coffins, and then something they never anticipated happened: people starting coming to them asking to help with making their own coffins.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started making coffins, I soon realised I was making them for people who weren\u2019t dead yet. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also had to learn to deal with people who are at the end of their life, and people come to me \u2013 for example they may have stage four cancer \u2013 and they want to come and help weave their coffin. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a service that we offer, and people often bring family members.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate says more of her customers are looking into alternative funerals and \u201ccelebrations of life\u201d. <\/p>\n

\u201cI find that a lot of the funeral industry is quite set in its ways and quite old-fashioned,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore people are wanting to have different types of ceremonies, or no ceremony, or no religious service and just want to have a quiet affair with a few friends and things like that. Times are changing. More people are also wanting to make those choices that are also not doing any harm to the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n

[\u00a0\u2018He was only 88\u2019: There is a cosy familiarity to Irish funeralsOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

Last year they held a weekend workshop in Co Clare where they helped people create a mock funeral ritual.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got people helping to make a shroud, which is another thing becoming more popular, and helping people to write messages to put inside the coffin, to make wreaths to put on the coffin, and then we walked around carrying the coffin … singing songs and seeing and exploring how funerals can be done differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that\u2019s definitely growing and gaining momentum in Ireland now,\u201d she adds. \u201cPeople just want something different.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Irish funeral is a cornerstone of the nation but the nature of how we say goodbye to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":671787,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[72,12780,615,284605,68036,61,60],"class_list":["post-671786","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-business","tag-catholic-church","tag-dublin","tag-fanagans-funeral-directors","tag-harold-s-cross","tag-ie","tag-ireland"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671786","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=671786"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/671786\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/671787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=671786"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=671786"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=671786"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}