Analysis: Livestreamed funerals, memorial websites and online books of condolences have become accepted and important mourning rituals in Ireland
In Ireland, forms of social support for grief and bereavement traditionally involve extended families, friends, neighbours and wider communities. There is, though, an evolution in how such social ties surrounding the end of life are and will be maintained in contemporary Irish society, including by technological means.
Among many other sudden changes in our everyday lives, the Covid-19 pandemic introduced new ways for people in Ireland to take part in mourning rituals. RIP.ie, which had been operating since 2005, grew into one of the most used websites in Ireland. The live streaming of funeral services was another sudden pivot, a useful yet disconcerting one at a time when public health measures heavily restricted in-person gatherings and other traditional expressions of grief and support, such as shaking hands.
How did people experience these dramatic changes? And why have some of these remained to this day? Our recent study shows that digital replacements of mourning rituals such as funerals were appreciated as a functional solution at a time of crisis and uncertainty, but that the experiences of online participation in mourning were deeply unfulfilling. Core elements of how we express and share support in grief were deeply missed and the experience of a personal sense of closeness and closure was also not satisfied.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, a new €100 charge on RIP.ie has caused big competition in the death-notice website space
Despite these challenges, people made efforts to deal with such profoundly altered mourning rituals and to weave their use of technology into new practices. They found their own ways to support themselves and others in a thoughtful manner.
Participants in our study recalled choosing to watch funerals on their personal devices while standing outside the church or sitting in their cars; holding guards of honour with neighbours and coworkers for a funeral cortége before going home to watch the livestream or the Mass; contributing to memorial websites and online books of condolences; adjusting their home space appropriately for quiet reflection while watching the funeral, for example by lighting a candle. Despite their sense of unfulfillment and the limitations of digital means, people found meaningful ways to honour the person who had died and to share their support to the bereaved.
These changes to how we participate in mourning have deeply affected everyone who experienced them at the time and their impact is very much still ongoing. Livestreaming is now an expected part of funerals, whether hosted and managed by funeral directors or by local parishes. The change – and the use of technology that came with it - is such that it has taken people time to navigate and to make sense of. Participants in our study are still coming to terms with it and still finding ways to meaningfully integrate technology, and to identify which useful roles it could play going forward.
Read more: How the rituals around Irish deaths, wakes and funerals have changed
The change – and the use of technology that came with it - is such that it has taken people time to navigate and to make sense of. Participants in our study are still coming to terms with it and still finding ways to meaningfully integrate technology, and to identify which useful roles it could play going forward.
Broadly, people find digital technology most useful for those who cannot attend mourning rituals in person, either because they live far away, or because of other barriers to in person attendance such as poor health. Some examples of positive use blend in-person and online attendance to fit with their work or life constraints. Others find value in the online experience in itself, feeling that they can focus more on the spiritual and contemplative aspects of the religious service, and taking the opportunity for quiet personal reflection about the deceased person when watching the funeral online. This process of making sense of the new is ongoing and it will take time to fully capture the altered ways in which the digital can play a role in mourning rituals.
While it is clear that digital technology is now an established part of mourning practices, in Ireland and elsewhere, there are important debates to be had about its wider implications. During the Covid-19 crisis, platforms and systems that were familiar and readily available were quickly repurposed, but some long term considerations are needed. What is the business and ownership model of these platforms? What types of interactions do they support and are they the most appropriate ones? How do they take care of the data that is generated on them, and how do they handle privacy? What functionalities do they provide to those professionals who manage online events?
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
From RTÉ Radio 1's Drivetime, how RIP.ie became an Irish cultural phenomenon
Commercial platforms in widespread use, such as those owned by Google/Alphabet and Meta, now offer users additional functionalities to customise data privacy and to configure legacy preferences, which is an unavoidable aspect of online life. However, there are still open questions as to whether these tools are the most suitable ones to support mourning rituals and practices around the end of life.
If the recent example of the platform now known as X has taught us anything, it's that tools and systems will not always be available in the same format, and that the way they operate can dramatically change in terms of membership, data policies, perceived safety, and rules of conduct. A change of ownership, for example, can dramatically affect these things. Changes in European and Irish law might be at odds with the practices of technology companies headquartered overseas.
It is necessary to consider designing and shaping alternative tools that are safe, responsibly managed and that might provide more useful instruments to support meaningful and thoughtful participation in mourning. The human-computer interaction should also be carefully designed to capture the needs and sensitivities of diverse users. Mourning rituals are important in Ireland and, if technology is here to stay for them, we need to make it better.
Follow RTÉ Brainstorm on WhatsApp and Instagram for more stories and updates
The views expressed here are those of the author and do not represent or reflect the views of RTÉ
