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Our role as a family business is using our vast experience to meet the exact requirements of all our customers, providing compassion and care in the arrangements for the bereaved at a time of sadness and grief.
This includes offering you our advice in all the options for the funeral and arranging everything in accordance with your wishes, and those of the deceased, within an agreed budget.
Funeral services usually take place in the parish church of the deceased, and then proceed to the cemetery or crematorium. Alternatively, a funeral service or mass can be organised to take place in a cemetery or crematorium chapel, with a member of the clergy in attendance, or a civil celebrant for a non-religious service.
Whether burial or cremation is preferred, we will be able to arrange either choice and If required, where viewing will take place, this can take place at one of our funeral homes or alternatively a place of your choosing. Viewings can be arranged to suit your preferences.
For many of our customers, this will be the first time they are arranging a funeral and they are often concerned about what to do first. Cunningham’s will carry out all arrangements in according to your wishes and those of the deceased but the initial actions will depend on where the death has occurred and what the circumstances are. We have outlined the most common situations experienced.
In a case in which the death was expected the deceased will have been seen to by their GP recently. The first call should be made to this doctor who is required to visit the home and confirm that the death has occurred.
If calling the GP out-of-hours you may be directed to contact a locum doctor. The locum will visit the home to confirm death has occurred. Your GP should then be contacted the following morning and advised that death has occurred. Once death has been confirmed (by GP or locum) you should contact Cunninghams to discuss your options and begin making funeral arrangements.
If the death is unexpected the first call that should be placed is to the deceased’s GP. In some cases, the GP may advise the family to contact their local Garda Station as the Gardaí may wish to refer the death to the Coroner; this is particularly common in sudden deaths.
In addition to this the family may wish to contact a Minister of their faith to be present also.
If a loved one has passed away overseas, please contact Cunninghams and we will make all the necessary arrangements to have their remains peacefully brought back to Ireland.
In the case of sudden deaths, wherever they occur, it is essential it is reported to An Garda Siochána, who will then refer the death to The Coroner. The Coroner will assess the facts surrounding the death and may or may not issue for a post-mortem examination to take place. This is carried out by a pathologist to understand the medical cause of death. When required this can normally see a delay of 1 to 2 days before funeral arrangements can proceed.
In the event of a death you should contact Cunninghams to make funeral arrangements.
In normal circumstances, a doctor will be present or requested by nursing staff to confirm the death. Hospital or Nursing home staff will be able to advise you on whether a post mortem should be required. In the event of a death in a hospital or nursing home, Cunninghams should be contacted to make the necessary arrangements.
The majority of funerals consist of the deceased being removed to the church immediately before the morning Service or Mass, and then proceeding to the cemetery or crematorium immediately afterwards.
An evening removal, which consists of the remains being removed to the church in the evening, for a short Prayer Service, with the mourners returning the following morning for a Funeral Mass, and then proceed to the cemetery or crematorium afterwards.
A non-denominational service which can include some religious aspects. This type of service is usually conducted by a civil celebrant, and often takes place in a cemetery or crematorium chapel, followed by burial or cremation immediately after the service.
