Ask Jennings.ie: Cremation

Cremation is an alternative to burial, and has become increasingly popular in Ireland over the last 10 years.

Most religions throughout the world permit cremation, including Christian denominations (including Catholicism), though some religions such as Orthodox Judaism and Islam do not.

Cremation Costs

Despite a perception to the contrary, there is actually no significant difference between the cost of a burial and the cost of a cremation (unless the family have to buy a new grave plot, which will add to burial costs).

The Funeral Directors’ charges remain the same.

Irish Rules for Cremation

If you wish to arrange for your loved one to be cremated, discuss it with your Funeral Director who can ensure that all of the legal requirements are met.

There are forms that must be completed by the Funeral Director, the Applicant, the Doctor or Coroner and these will be viewed by a medical referee, who must be satisfied that the attending doctor viewed the diseased before and after death; completed the medical certificate and that there is no reason why cremation cannot take place.

The attending doctor will also determine whether or not the coroner must be notified of the death prior to cremation, as if the cause of death is unclear it may delay proceedings. A coroner may complete a Coroner’s Cremation Certificate which will allow the cremation to go ahead.

In some cases, a Garda Superintendent has the power to stop a cremation.

Services for Cremation

Similar to burials, it is usual to hold an appropriate service at the church of your choice and the form of the service depends on the religion of the deceased.

The coffin is removed by your Funeral Directors to the chapel on the grounds of whichever crematorium you choose (see Dublin crematoria list below) where a short committal service takes place; similar to the kind that happens at a graveside.

When the mourners have left the coffin will be taken to the crematorium building itself and is cremated on the same day as the service. Only one coffin is cremated at a time (with certain exceptions where requested by the family).

The Code of Cremation Practice requires that the coffin is placed in the cremator in exactly the same condition as that in which it arrived at the crematorium, and that only combustible materials are used in the manufacture of coffins destined for cremation.

The Ashes

The ashes of the deceased will be available 24 to 48 hours after the cremation.

Your Jennings Funeral Director can make arrangements for the remains to be interred in the crematorium’s garden of remembrance or placed in a niche in a columbarium wall, if there is one. (A columbarium wall is a structure containing small spaces where you can place cremated remains in urns, etc.).

If you prefer the ashes can be removed in an urn, supplied by the funeral director or the crematorium, and can be either buried in the family grave or dispersed.

If the dispersal is not on private ground, permission should be sought from the local authority at the intended site of dispersal.

Crematoria in Dublin

A cremation can take place in one of three crematoria in Dublin. Access to these cremation locations is not restricted to people living in Dublin.

Glasnevin Crematorium
Glasnevin Cemetery
Finglas Road
Glasnevin
Dublin 11
Ireland
Tel:(01) 830 5211
Homepage: http://www.glasnevintrust.ie/funeral-services/glasnevin-cemeteries-crem/
Email: [email protected]

Newlands Cross Crematorium
Ballymount Road
Clondalkin
Dublin 24
Ireland
Tel:+353 1 459 2288

Mount Jerome Crematorium
Mount Jerome
Harolds Cross
Dublin 6
Ireland
Tel:+353 1 497 1269