IAFD News Covid19 – One Year On – Thoughts of an lrish Funeral Director
I
t is now one year since Covid-19 arrived on our shores and we experienced our first ‘Lockdown’ in Ireland. Did any of us ever imagine that we would be in ‘Lockdown’ again 12 months later? The uncertainty for everyone was enormous. Not only regarding how we operated our businesses and the services we could provide to our client families, but also the restrictions regarding how funerals could be conducted and the huge impact on families. We quickly adapted to a completely new set of regulations; hand-washing/sanitising, wearing face coverings and social distancing have become the norm. There are no gatherings or wakes which as we all know are a big part of the traditional Irish funeral. Live streaming of the Funeral Mass or Service offers a virtual attendance by many people who wish to offer their respects but who are not in the family group of ten attendees. The firm hand-shake and the sincere warm hugs have been replaced with online messages of condolences. The new phenomenon whereby neighbours and the wider community line the roads and streets as the Funeral cortège passes has proven to be hugely comforting to families. Everyone in funeral services has worked incredibly
hard under enormous pressure and within many restrictions, but our mission remains to focus on offering our client families the best possible service and final journey for their loved ones. Funeral Directors throughout the country are all front-line workers. They have all been true heroes for the past 12 months and continue to be there for all of us. But let us remember the families of those who have been bereaved over the past year, not just Covid related deaths but all families who have been bereaved. Many have been unable to be with their loved one in their final days and hours and have the added stress of not being permitted to have a traditional Funeral as we know it in Ireland. There has been an unquestioning acceptance by bereaved families of all these very tough restrictions. Every one of these bereaved families have been the ‘unsung heroes’ during this pandemic. Will funerals ever return to what they were like pre-Covid ? The answer remains to be seen. We sincerely hope that the vaccine rollout will enable a gradual return to a normal way of life and the traditions that make the Irish Funeral and grieving process so unique to our culture will return.
Minister McEntee announces appointment of Chief State Pathologist
T
he Minister for Justice Helen McEntee TD has announced the appointment of Dr. Linda Mulligan as the Chief State Pathologist following an open competition run by the Public Appointments Service. Making the announcement, the Minister said: “Dr. Mulligan is an accomplished and highly professional Consultant Forensic Pathologist with over 18 years’ experience, both nationally and internationally, in Forensic Pathology, Histopathology and Clinical Medicine. She has been filling the position as interim Chief State Pathologist since
22 | FuneralTimes
2019.” Commenting on her appointment as Chief State Pathologist, Dr Mulligan said: “I am both privileged and excited to take on this important role and follow in the footsteps of my esteemed predecessors. I am looking forward to the opportunities and challenges of establishing our new team and developing a strategic plan for the office, with a firm focus on continuing to provide the highest quality national forensic pathology service to the coroners, An Garda Síochána, the criminal justice system and, most importantly, to the families of the deceased.”
