Water-based cremations and golden caskets: Inside Ireland's funeral industry
Trainee embalmer John Quail, 16, from Navan, Co Meath at the Funeral times Trade Show. He says: ‘I love the job, families go through a terrible time, and we are here for them.’ Pictures: Moya Nolan
A funeral director, who has opened Ireland’s first water-based resomarium, has said it is proving popular with people who are concerned about protecting the environment.
Elizabeth Oakes, 38, from Pure Reflections in Navan, Co Meath, has already carried out three resomations since opening on September 25.
Resomation (water cremation) is an alternative to flame cremation and uses water to return the body to its natural components.
It first started in US laboratories, where Ms Oakes received her training, in the early 2000s. She claims to be the first person in Europe to offer this service.
The alkaline hydrolysis process includes placing the remains of the deceased person into a large vessel of water which is heated at 93C.
A solution of 95% water and 5% alkaline is circulated into the machine during an automated process which gently dissolves the remains into liquid form.
It is a more eco-friendly approach to flame cremation because burning a body creates 245kg of carbon dioxide, whereas aquamation is 28kg.
The liquid effluent which consists of amino acids, peptides sugars and salt, undergoes multiple levels of filtration, neutralisation, and sterilisation before being released back into the ecosystem.
All diseases are destroyed in the process.
“I start by lifting the body out of the coffin,” said Ms Oakes.
“It’s then placed into the resonator machine; it is all automated and takes three to four hours.
“It speeds up the natural decomposition of the body. Ultimately it brings our flesh and cells back to our chemical components. We are made up of 70% of water.
“When the process is finished, all that is left is the inorganic matter which are your bones, and any prosthetics.
“They are all clean and I would like to see them donated or recycled if possible. But we are not there yet.” Ms Oakes said there has been “a huge amount of interest” in resomations.
The process costs €1,500 and she has a chapel on site at her resomarium which offers a 40-minute service of the family’s choice.
“Whatever you want, we will organise it,” she said.
“We have an electric generator too, not a gas one, so material like bones, gets turned into dust, in the drying machine, while the water goes into the system. That is why Irish Water do the testing.
“I return the urns back to the family. I think it is a huge honour and a privilege to do this.
“You’re the last person to see someone, and I am very caring towards them. I chat away to the [deceased] person, and I feel the spirits around me, I’ve no doubt there is a higher being because I always feel a presence.” Ms Oakes said she went to the US at 18 to study mortuary science at Cypress College after training to be an embalmer here.
“We used to collect the unclaimed cadavers from the city morgue and use them in our embalming labs.
“On one trip with my tutor, we called into University College LA and he showed me around the body donation programme, and I was fascinated.
“Sustainability wasn’t really a thing and so I came back to Ireland in 2008 and the financial crash came. I moved into working on my farm with my husband, and we went on to have six children.” However, the idea did not leave her mind and she spent the last six years working on planning permission, which included testing with Irish Water.
She then received a €200,000 grant with the Leader programme for rural sustainable development from Meath County Council.
Death may not be everybody’s favourite topic of conversation but that does not stop the curiosity.
The rise in alternative funerals was evident this week as dozens flocked to the two-day Funeral Trade Fair in Leopardstown racecourse in south Dublin.
A break away from tradition now sees Ford Mustang hearses, gold-painted caskets, a large multi-layer freezer for storing bodies, biodegradable coffins, and experts on facial reconstruction, some of which could be found at the fair.
Embalming is a vital part of the funeral process, giving grieving families the chance to present their loved ones respectfully to their community on their end-of-life journey.
One of the country’s youngest trainee embalmers described it as a position of trust.
When 16-year-old John Quail from Navan told his family he was going to pursue his dream job with his local funeral director, Farrellys, they told him: “You’re pure mad.” He decided to specialise in embalming.
“People are moving away from death, it’s now a celebration of life,” he said.
“People are requesting to wear colourful clothes at a funeral and not black. No two funerals are the same and while the death of a loved one is the worst experience in your life, people are preparing more for death and putting more thought into it.
“Embalming helps to keep the body from decomposing, so you could get maybe 10 to 12 days from it.
“This line of work is not for everyone,” he continued.
“There is nothing I haven’t seen. I love the job, families go through a terrible time, and we are here for them. It is a very busy business.”
Event organiser Richard McKimm said death “hits everyone and the funeral directors try to help as best they can”.
With up to 35,000 deaths in Ireland every year, Mr McKimm said the industry is finding new ways all the time to conduct a funeral.
“You can get anything from motorbikes with a glass trailer beside it for the coffin to a Bentley hearse.
“[A vehicle] is a big investment for a funeral director. There are electric vehicles there too. A hearse can go up to €350,000.
“There are also a lot more humanist services too. There is a greater need for people who have never been to a church.
“Direct cremations are also on the rise. It’s when an undertaker takes the remains away and brings you back the ashes, there’s no service.
“There is government assistance for people struggling, it wouldn’t cover all the costs, but everyone works out different financial plans, and nobody charges for an infant’s funeral.”
Tom Coburn of Eamon Glennon coffin manufacturers in Co Longford is part of one the largest firms in the country constructing thousands of coffins each year.
He said any design is achievable if he is given some notice.
“Solid oak coffins are very popular down the country,” he said.
“They are traditional, and some people want to have what their parents had.
“There is also the oak wax finish which gives a matte look, then there are polished ones and coffins with Our Lady of Knock, Padre Pio, or The Last Supper.”
At the heart of his coffin display at the fair was an open gold-painted casket with white cotton bedding inside.
“They are a niche market, but there are various colours, green, red, and blue.
“They can cost from €3,000 to €6,000; the very high end of caskets could go up to €20,000. There is a big choice, and you can personalise it. But really, it’s about what you want, and then the quote is made up from that.
“There are also coffins for football fanatics, GAA, or rugby.
“Then we have children’s coffins with Harry Potter, teddy bears, or flowers.”
Fintan Cooney, of the Irish Association of Funeral Directors, works at Fanagans Undertakers in Dublin.
“Our members conduct about 80% of funerals in Ireland every year.
“There are around 600 companies in Ireland who call themselves funeral directors, but most of our members are small- to medium-sized companies.
“There is an increasing amount of non-religious funerals. There is a big move towards cremation. These are trends happening gradually rather than radically.
“In Dublin, cremations account for 50% of funerals, burials are more popular outside Dublin.”
When asked about the average cost of a funeral which can range from €4,000 to €6,500, he said: “The vast majority of families are not surprised when they receive a bill, they have an expectation, and very rarely do they express the view that it is a lot more than expected.
“The cost varies a lot, the most significant cost is if you want to purchase a new grave, particularly in Dublin.
“New graves in Dublin could be as low as €2,500, but the average is €6,000 to €7,000. You pay that to the owner of the cemetery.”
Weaver Harry McGrenaghan from Willow Coffins in Donegal was at the Funeral Times Trade show last week and said it’s an honour to make hand woven biodegradable coffins. pic.twitter.com/va88EmEGcr
— Alison O’Reilly (@AlisonMaryORE) October 6, 2023
Facial construction, make-up and hair, are something Patricia Dubrasson has been doing with her husband for two decades.
Born in France but living in the UK, she has since set up her own cosmetic company, European Embalming Products Co Ltd (EEP).
“It’s not something I woke up one day and decided to do,” she said.
“When I was 16, I was very interested in going into beauty and I became a hairdresser. My father, who was in the funeral industry and was selling embalming products, called me and said he was opening a company.
“The process is, if a person dies in an accident, you look at what can be done. It is restoration cosmetics.
“The mouth goes down, so you give it a little smile. There are ways of closing the eyes and putting the lips upwards. It’s the final piece, the makeup.
“My husband does facial reconstruction and has embalmed more than 25,000 bodies. You can absolutely bring the face back in most circumstances if you have the photo and the information.”
If cremation takes place, the packing of the urn and ashes is also something families appreciate.
Adrienne Peers runs a Bespoke Packing firm, Canfly Marketing, for the return of ashes in a “respectful manner”.
“When you go back to the company who is taking care of your loved one, you want to see that they have gone to the trouble of packaging everything well.
“I make bags and boxes for the urns, and I provide them to the funeral directors.
“It is a very respectful part of the process and one of the last pieces for the family.”
Harry McGrenaghan is a weaver with Willow Coffins in Fanad in Co Donegal, who promotes the use of environmentally friendly funeral products.
“These are handmade coffins,” said Mr McGrenaghan. “When they go into the ground, they are biodegradable.
“They are extremely popular now. People really want to play their role in being greener.”
Mr McGrenaghan said it takes two and a half days to complete one basket and he makes two in a week.
“I was a van driver for a courier company for years and I needed a change. My wife signed me up for a weaving course on a Monday night.
“Five years later, here I am. It is a very therapeutic position to be in. I believe in a God; I don’t believe in a structured church religion.
“God may not look like one of the Bee Gees with long hair and a long dress, but I do believe something spiritual is there.”
