Louise Mac Sweeney - Civil Funeral Celebrant
Ceremonies searmanais
Tailored ceremonies that reflect each life’s unique story.
A civil funeral ceremony offers a meaningful farewell, celebrating your loved one's life. It can take place in locations such as funeral homes, family residences, crematoria, cemeteries, or meaningful outdoor settings.
Your choice may be influenced by cultural or religious customs, budget, personal beliefs, or the deceased’s wishes. The ceremony concludes with burial or cremation, marking the final farewell.
Each service reflects the individual, blending secular or spiritual elements, readings, and music. Special touches like slideshows, memory boxes, mementos, and themes such as nature can be included.
The committal offers a moment for reflection, preparing mourners for closure. The flexibility of a civil funeral ensures a personal, fitting goodbye, regardless of location.
As your celebrant, I will lead a personalised ceremony in your chosen location, honouring your loved one’s memory.
civil funeral
A personalised farewell in your chosen setting
sochraid sibhialta
crematorium
A civil funeral at a crematorium provides a respectful farewell, with services held at crematoria across Ireland, including several in Dublin, one in Cavan, Shannon, Cork.
Ceremonies typically last 20–30 minutes, as crematoria operate on scheduled time slots. The service can include the client’s chosen readings, music, and personal tributes, creating a meaningful reflection of their loved one’s life.
Following the ceremony, cremation takes place, and the ashes are usually available for collection within a few days. Families may then choose to scatter, inter, or keep them in a memorial urn, with the option of a separate ceremony for this final act of remembrance.
créamatóiriam
A personalised farewell in a custom setting
graveside burial
A personalised farewell at a final resting place
A graveside burial typically follows a civil service at a funeral home or family residence, such as after a wake. The entire ceremony can also take place at the cemetery. Held in an open-air setting, it allows for a more relaxed, reflective pace and often provides more freedom with timing.
The service may include traditional elements like readings and music, along with personal touches suited to an outdoor setting such as the release of doves, tree planting, or other symbolic gestures. Flowers, a time-honoured graveside tradition, can also be placed on the coffin or grave as a final tribute.
The committal, a longstanding funeral ritual, offers a solemn moment for reflection and farewell before the burial. A headstone or plaque typically marks the resting place, giving family and friends a dedicated space for ongoing remembrance.
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memorials
After cremation, ashes are usually returned within a few days, allowing families to plan a fitting tribute with the 'cremains'. They may be scattered in a meaningful location or placed in a columbarium. This is a stone structure with niches for urns, providing a permanent and respectful resting place.
Ashes can also be interred in a burial plot, marked with a headstone or plaque, often keeping generations together in one space.
A memorial ceremony, whether on an anniversary or for those unable to attend the funeral, creates a moment to gather, reflect, and honour a loved one’s life in a personal and purposeful way.
Honouring memories, lasting tributes.
cuimhneacháin
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Portrait photography by John Wilde
