Padriac Cawley on how it’s not all about him

Leading a funeral isn’t about me!

Any Funeral Service that I design and lead is written all around one person. That person gets centre stage with their life story. They’re in the spotlight too for the very last time. So I’m very clear that the first name I want you to hear in the service is that of the person who’s died. I also want their name to be the last one that you hear at the end of the service and before you leave. For that very reason, you’ll never hear me introduce myself or my role. My name doesn’t matter. Nor does my title. What matters is that a Funeral Service is being held for a very special person

By Padraic Cawley Civil Funeral Celebrant

and that people have come together to remember them - not to learn about process, structure or any one person’s ego.

So of course I’ve been approached by many people after a service, asking who I am and where I’m from. They’re interesting conversations to have and they happen at the right time to have them then. But more importantly, they give me the chance to address individual curiosity, rather than levy my professional status in a blanket approach.

We go to a Funeral to say our Final Goodbyes to someone who’s mattered

to us. If that person at the front has made you curious through the experience, then so be it.

I’m always conscious of how the ceremony experience will ripple on for everyone long after the day has drawn to a close.

It’s not just about the words used or how they’re delivered. It’s about how everyone is made to feel part of what’s happening and how they understand their own role in the celebration.

Holding space for everyone to make those connections during the ceremony is a big part of what I do - and it always will be.