90% of Irish people believe eulogies at funerals should be allowed, survey indicates

Nine out of 10 people believe families should have the right to deliver a eulogy at the funeral Mass of a relative, a new survey has found.

In the survey, conducted by RIP.ie, which is owned by The Irish Times Group, social media followers were asked for their experiences and views on funerals.

The voluntary online survey, which was open for three weeks in October and November last, generated almost 3,400 responses from the 32 counties and from around the world. More than 500 responses came from Dublin and Cork.

The issue of eulogies is a controversial one for Catholics in many parts of the country as several dioceses do not allow them.

Asked how long the eulogy should be, 45 per cent said it should be of six to 10 minutes’ duration while 41 per cent said it should be under five minutes.

“It’s clear that the vast majority support the right to deliver a short tribute about their loved ones and an opportunity to say goodbye to them in their own words,” said Richie Kelly, head of RIP.ie.

“Hopefully, these findings will contribute to an informed debate on the issue.”

On average Irish people have attended five funerals in the past year, the survey found.

Most funerals in Ireland take place over three days and 84 per cent of people believe this is about the right time, the survey showed.

However, 14 per cent believe this is too fast; 1 per cent think it’s too slow.

Some 83 per cent of Irish people surveyed said they believed a funeral should be a celebration of life.

A third of respondents said they liked to see some non-traditional features at funerals, while almost one in five preferred a more traditional approach.

Kelly said that while there was a clear urban-rural divide in some of the findings, there were some interesting regional variations.

“It’s clear that people from outside Dublin go to more funerals. For example, in Connacht the average over the past 12 months is six while in Dublin it’s three,” he said.

With regard to which type of funeral service they might opt for, 78 per cent of respondents said they would consider a religious ceremony with a priest, minister or equivalent, while 20 per cent said they would consider a humanist or non-religious ceremony.

Just over 10 per cent said they would consider not having any funeral service and only have a burial or cremation.

A majority of people said they would consider burial (63 per cent), 46 per cent said they would consider traditional cremation and 11 per cent said they would consider donating their body to science.