Tag Archives: Funerals

BISHOP of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan is appealing to the public to avoid congregating around funeral ceremonies, outside churches and at cemeteries. Bishop Monahan said that following conversations with priests and people around the Diocese in recent weeks, he had learned of serious health and safety concerns about the number of people gathering after funeral ceremonies in church and also at burial ceremonies. “Whilst it is such a positive and deeply ingrained aspect of our culture in Ireland to gather and offer condolences to the bereaved family, unfortunately due to the highly contagious nature of the coronavirus it is still not safe to do so,” he said. “While being sensitive to the needs of mourners for care and compassion at such a difficult time, many priests have expressed deep concern for the wellbeing of parishioners gathering in such a manner and I share that concern.” The Catholic bishop said that at the start of the pandemic, mourners and families have been …

“AS a mainly rural people, we’ve always had a tradition of going to funerals to provide support and show sympathy, Covid-19 has forced us to make massive changes to that custom,” said Ennis-based undertaker, Cyril Cusack, commenting on one of the most challenging aspects of all of the current public health guidelines limiting gatherings and movement in the face of the Coronavirus. Reposals, hand-shakes and books of condolence have all been ruled out for the time being and the traditional funeral drawing huge number of mourners is a sight we are unlikely to see for some time. Detailed guidelines from the Health Service Executive (HSE) to funeral directors outline how social distancing must be implemented, meaning only private ceremonies for immediate family and friends are allowed. Despite the restrictions, Mr Cusack said families are handling the situation with dignity and grace at an extremely challenging time. “First of all, families have to deal with their shock and sometimes anger when …