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Wednesday 6 December 2023 Dublin: 5°C

# last rites

All time
"There is something profound about holding someone as they take their last breaths"
Your experiences of grief, in your own words.
The traditional Irish wake: Why rumours of its demise have been greatly exaggerated
“The terrible thing about dying over there is that you miss your own wake,” Dave Allen once said. But is the tradition still as popular?
'It's my job to help the family plan and care for their dying children at home'
Anne Tan’s career changed after meeting two terminally ill children.
"There are worse things than dying" - how Irish medical workers deal with the final journey
Doctors, nurses and specialists told us what death means to them as an experience.
'I lost two brothers to suicide. It’s unimaginable that it could happen twice'
With suicide you are robbed of the natural grieving process. It should be about the person but the act takes over, writes Mary O’Neill.
What is it that makes Irish people fight over wills?
Where there’s a will – there’s a potential family falling out of seismic proportions.
'What I've learned from working in a crematorium for 33 years'
“Down through the years I’ve seen some really tragic cases … It can be hard.”
Last Rites: the arrival of a priest is a monument to finality in Irish life
How do people who are around death as a job handle it?
My Dad was a mortician, so it's no surprise I ended up as an embalmer
Pamela Murphy had a unique upbringing in that her father was a mortician, so working as an embalmer never fazed her.
'Kate is my daughter. Kate was born still and silent. It is the loudest heartbreak.'
A mother-of-three on the heartbreak of having a stillborn daughter.
There is no cure for me. I will die from cancer.
Wendy Coughlan speaks openly about being diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Organising a funeral: The unexpected challenges when a loved ones dies
It can seem like an overwhelming task – here it is step by step.
Everything you wanted to know about grief but were too afraid to ask
An expert tells us what we can do to support bereaved people, how to talk to children about loss, and if there’s a good alternative to mass cards.
'Then everyone died': I lost four people I loved in 14 months
“Your heart will always be a little bit broken – and that’s okay.”
Advice: What to say - and not say - to a friend who is recently bereaved
Running away and saying nothing at all is often the worst. But there are times to ‘show up and shut up’.