aftering podcasts

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 [email protected]

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