Communion is an important rite of passage for many Irish children, and something parents and family members look forward to years in advance.
However, there is a growing trend for alternative communion ceremonies, which are offering a more inclusive, non-religious version of the event.
Yvonne Cassidy, Celebrant with the Irish Ethical Celebrant Society, joined Drivetime to discuss why she started organising alternative communions and why they're appealing to more families.
"There seems to be, definitely, a bit of a buzz around it this year more so than any other year that I've seen but the idea of an alternative to the communion is still a fairly new idea. We've seen this over the years, say for instance with baby naming instead of the baptism", she said.
While these ceremonies are still somewhat niche, Cassidy said she does believe they will become more popular in the years to come.
Cassidy was inspired to perform alternative communions by her own child's experience. "I have an eight year-old daughter, she's in second class which is the communion year, she does go to a Catholic school but we're not raising her in the Catholic faith", she said.
"So when it came time to decide what were we going to do, I'm a celebrant, ceremony and ritual is very important to me so I was planning to do something just with my daughter. Then talking to other parents at the school drop off, there was a bit of interest."
In the end there were eight children who took part in the alternative communion that Cassidy organised. "[It was] just a really fun ceremony. It was great that they had a group because I think it added a bit to the day for them."
She added: "Rites of passage have been something that we've seen over centuries and cultures and generations, so it's not a new concept to celebrate milestones in children's lives, and especially around the age of eight and nine, they move from the baby phase into this more independent phase, and we would see a lot of ceremony and ritual happening around that age."
Cassidy's daughter was "thrilled" with her chance to dress up with her friends, Cassidy said. They began the prep for it late last year, when the first meeting was organised, which was similar to the timeline for children preparing for communion.
To listen back to the full interview, click above.
