In this episode, the 21st century approach to the memorial. Guest Jennifer Muldowney (AKA The Glam Reaper)is an expert who helps families design and organise meaningful memorial services. She has long experience working in the deathcare industry and runs several successful businesses providing a range of services. Jennifer shares her insights into how she started out in Ireland working in this mainly male-dominated service. She is now based in New York so has seen how both cultural differences and deep human universal meaning shapes memorials across society. Further information: Podcast/Blog - www.theglamreaper.com www.muldowneymemorials.com @TheGlamReaper on Twitter and Tedx 2017 'Say Farewell Your Way' - a funeral planning guide for Ireland. Irish Glass Memorial Jewellery line: Humans - www.celtic-ashes.com Pets - www.rainbowbridge-memorials.com

In this episode, learning about the findings from a first-of-its-kind survey of people bereaved by suicide in Ireland. The survey seeks to understand the needs of the bereaved and hear their stories. Dr Eve Griffin from the National Suicide Research Foundation joins me to share the background to 'AfterWords: A survey of people bereaved by suicide in Ireland' and the key findings in it. It’s important to note that Pieta provides services to those who are thinking about suicide and those who have been bereaved by suicide. Their free 24-hour number is 1800 247 247 Also, Samaritans provide a 24-hour listening service, free of charge. Phone 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org AfterWords: A survey of people bereaved by suicide in Ireland is available via the website nsrf.ie The direct link to the survey here: https://www.nsrf.ie/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Suicide-Bereavement-Survey-report_digital.pdf A list of support organisations and organisations for people bereaved by suicide can be found on the HUGG website: www.hugg.ie ‘You are not alone: Support for people who have been bereaved by suicide’ is a guide which provides information on suicide bereavement and the supports available in Ireland. The guide was developed by people who have lost loved ones through suicide in conjunction with the HSE. A download of the guide can be found here: https://www.hse.ie/eng/services/list/4/mental-health-services/connecting-for-life/news/national-suicide-bereavement-support-guide.pdf

In this episode – I got the chance to speak with Neltah Chadamoyo about Solo Sirens — an entirely female theatre-making and producing collective based in Tallaght. Solosirens created an innovative project exploring grief and loss. Supported by the Irish Hospice Foundation, it drew on the experiences of the group. The SoloSiren’s symposium 2022 was also part of this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival. Zimbabwean Neltah also shares traditions and culture around dealing with death and supporting the bereaved that she grew up with there. Further information: SoloSirens.info https://hospicefoundation.ie/arts-and-creativity/dance-and-movement-map-experiences-of-loss/

In this episode, my guest is Irish Hospice Foundation's Arts and Creative Engagement Officer Dominic Campbell. He explains the background to its special Seed Grant. This fund is available to individuals and groups seeking to create art that helps explore universal themes of dying, death and bereavement. More information: https://hospicefoundation.ie/our-supports-services/ihf-in-the-community/arts-and-creativity/seeds-grants-2022/

In this episode, guest Bob Hendrickx shares how the world's first living coffin came to exist. He is an architect, bio-designer and the inventor of a process to grow sustainable coffins from mycelium. The boxes break down when buried and have the ability to enhance biodiversity and detoxify soil. More information: https://www.loop-of-life.com/

In this episode, Caroline O'Sullivan is a specialist cancer nurse with the Irish Cancer Society and she shares advice on how and why it's so important to check your breasts regularly. In Ireland, cancer is the biggest killer and breast cancer is one of the top three (along with prostate and skin cancers). She outlines methods of checking and what to look for as well as sharing what supports are available to patients and their families. More information from cancer.ie or via the Irish Cancer Society support line call — 1800 200 700

In this episode, exploring the moral dilemmas attached to the display of dead people and animals for museum curators. Special guest @DrVerityBurke shares a brief history of anatomy museums and how some unscrupulous 18th & 19th century collectors used stolen bodies, as in the case of Derry's 'Irish Giant' Charles Byrne and even the remains of animals facing extinction during the time period. What are some ethical approaches available to museum curators today for legacy collections born from spoils of colonisation and empire?

In this episode, speaking to the women behind an immersive art installation mourning those lost to Covid 19. Visual artist Miriam Mc Connon and poet Jessica Traynor explain how they are asking people to collaborate on the project by sharing their stories of lost loved ones. For this large outdoor installation, Miriam will be creating 10,000 'clooties' (fabric tied alongside holy wells) of white handkerchiefs to create lace patterns and Jessica will be writing four poems responding to the stories of loss shared by the public, the art of lacemaking and the idea of clooties in ancient Irish tradition. Her poems will be accessible via QR codes positioned around the artwork. It will be available to visit in Dublin's Iveagh Gardens from 15 October 2022 and will be open to the public for 10 days. More information from LostLace.com

In this episode, folklorist and author Mattie Lennon joins me to share some of what he's learned from recent research into the process of home burial in Ireland. The guidance on being buried on your own land can be different from county to county and will also involve obtaining planning permission. Mattie Lennon's work including his essays, plays, poetry and stories can be found at MattieLennon.com Also on the programme is an interview with the founder of the Green Graveyard Company Colin McAteer who shares the background to Ireland's first green graveyard and how he set it up in Wexford. More information from GreenGraveyard.com

In this episode, learning about the concept of solastalgia — the grief and loss felt when the environment around you is negatively changed. Dr Christopher Phillips is an academic with a special interest in climate change adaptation and environmental psychology. He shares what he's discovered researching how the people of Courtown, Co Wexford have adapted to its beautiful sandy beach experiencing severe coastal erosion and the protective rock armour installed to mitigate the damage. Link to 'Solastalgia, place attachment and disruption: insights from a coastal community on the front line': https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10113-021-01778-y#Fig1

In this episode, digital afterlife researcher Dr Debra Bassett shares fascinating insights into the concept of 'digital zombies', why it's so important for tech companies to have an ethics code of conduct for storing the afterlives of the dead and how they are used. She explains that people need to have the rights over their digital afterlife protected with the equivalent of a 'Do Not Resuscitate' form so that they cannot be 'reanimated' to say and do things without consent after death. Dr Bassett also delves into the complexities for the bereaved to navigate this ever changing landscape where a deceased loved one can often have a presence in phones, social media and with companies offering post-death messaging services.

In this episode, a very dark chapter from Dublin's past. Historian Hugo McGuinness reveals the savage treatment of people who died by suicide in the 18th and 19th centuries. An ancient and callous law particularly affected the very poorest in society. There's a small unmarked plot where their bodies are still buried in Ballybough. EastWallForAll.ie facebook.com/hugomcguinness

In this episode, I get to speak with Tara O'Connor from Care Alliance Ireland about what happens when a carer's journey ends. She shares advice on the next steps and where to get support. Caring for a loved one — over decades, in some cases — means it can be very challenging to adjust to not be the main provider of care, such as when a loved one moves to a nursing home. It's also really important to give space to adjust during this challenging period and especially to grieve if the loved one being cared for has died. More information from CareAlliance.ie

In this episode, St Francis Hospice Dublin's Senior Occupational Therapist Dr Lauren Boland shares details about its successful patient-centred EMPOWER programme. One of its aims is to provide support to palliative patients who are suffering from panic attacks and anxiety with a practical toolkit of innovative methods of relaxation they can use themselves. The programme also helps patients improve their quality of life by working with them to create goals and creatively problem-solve ways of achieving them. She also shares stories of the camaraderie of the groups and how the patients find they can also be a great support to each other. SFH.ie

In this episode, understanding Death Education and why it matters. My guest is academic Jennifer Moran Stritch from Technological University of the Shannon (TUS). She explains the concept of Thanatology, the power of Death Cafés and shares some of the research happening in TUS. TUS.ie Twitter: @stritchj

In this episode, the strange towering Irish memorials of the 19th century. Guest archeologist Isabel Bennett shares the story behind her piece in Archaeology Ireland magazine on how a medieval tower for monks was reimagined and built in the 1800s for a completely different function. Further information: Excavations.ie ArchaeologyIreland.ie

In this episode, guests Niamh Donnelly, Occupational Therapy Manager and Lisa McGirr, Physiotherapy Manager from St Francis Hospice Dublin explain the many ways tailor-made Palliative Rehabilitation programmes can create gains in the quality of life for patients under their care. SFH.ie

In this episode, navigating the challenging experience of bereavement when you are a teenager and young adult. Guest Niamh Finucane, Co-ordinator of Social Work & Bereavement Services in St Francis Hospice Dublin shares insights from their new free book — 'Finding your way through grief' — produced by the hospice and written in collaboration with teens about what helped them in their grief. More information and how to get a copy of this free book can be found on www.SFH.ie

In this episode, learning about Ireland's first survey of those bereaved by suicide. I speak with Dr Eve Griffin from the National Suicide Research Foundation about the work that they do and she explains why it's so important to understand the experience of bereaved — from close family to wider community like carers, friends & emergency service staff. This research will inform public policy and how better to support those who have been affected by suicide. ***Whatever you are going through please know that The Samaritans provide a confidential 24/7 listening service free of charge call 116 123 Further information: www.nsrf.ie/contact/about-us/national-suicide-bereavement-survey/ www.hugg.ie hospicefoundation.ie/our-supports-services/bereavement-loss-hub/bereavement-support-line/ (Bereavement Support Line is a national freephone service 1800 80 70 77 available from 10am to 1pm, Monday to Friday)

In this episode, could terramation or human composting be the future of what we do with our bodies after we die? Cremation and conventional burial can contribute to negative impacts on the environment. However, terramation has been shown to be a more ecologically sustainable practice and it has now been approved across some western US states. I got the chance to speak with Brie Smith and Katey Houston from Return Home about what terramation is and how it works. They are located in Washington state in the USA. More information: ReturnHome.com