Death, like taxes, may be one of life's certainties, but it does not make running a business connected with the process any easier. Even long-established fun- eral directors, such as Dublin's Massey Brothers, face their share of challenges from price competition to big changes in their marketplace as the popularity of secular funeral grows.
The origins of the firm go back to the early 1930s to when Cissie Massey established a business in Dublin's Thomas Street to serve her local community. Some 80 years later her son, Freddie Maguire, runs the company which employs 40 people and has nine branches across Dublin. His wife, Aileen, and four of their children also work in the business.
“There is an assumption that there is always a market for funeral directors, but it is an industry like any other with its own pressures,” Freddie Maguire says. “In the current climate, value for money is very important, so you have to do your best to be price conscious while still meeting people’s expectations.
Conservative
"Regardless of market conditions we have to maintain our premises and fleet and provide a high level of service. That requires the same number of staff whether you are busy or not. We've seen increased competition in our sector from new entrants and the establishment of funeral offices that don't have the overheads of back up facilities (such as a reposing area) like we do. We also make and finish coffins."
While the funeral industry is notoriously conservative, Massey Brothers has been more open than most to trying new ideas. This includes adding a motorbike hearse to its fleet and reintroducing horse- drawn funeral carriages.
In November last year, Masseys brought itself right up to date when it launched The Haven, which Maguire says is "Ireland 's first dedicated civil and religious funeral ceremony venue". It cost €150,000 to develop the premises on Dublin's Crumlin Road and to fit it out with the latest audio- visual technology and facilities to live stream funerals over the internet to friends and family in far away places.
“Over the past number of years, requests for choice have increased and what we have created is a blank canvas that families can use to reflect their loved one in whatever way they feel is appropriate. This could be creating a theme around a sporting interest or holding a funeral ceremony in the middle of the night, so that relatives in Australia can be a part of it via the internet,” Maguire says.
“In our experience, the funeral industry is about five years behind the wedding industry. We know that in 2009 almost half of people marrying in Dublin city married in civil ceremonies. Already, approximately 10 per cent of families are requesting civil funerals for their loved ones.
“The last census showed that the number of people in Ireland with no religious affiliation had increased by 45 per cent to almost 270,000. It is important they have a place in which they can mark the passing of a loved one in a dignified and respectful manner.”
Masseys has also developed a new income stream in the area of the repatriation of remains. In January, the company launched an insurance plan aimed at the growing umber of people from overseas who now live here but who want their remains returned to their homeland after their death.
Core business
"International repatriation can be both complex and costly. Our plan, which caters for people right across Ireland, has been designed not just to ensure that the funds are available to pay for the repatriation, but also that the arrangements are taken care of for the family," Maguire says.
Changes in funeral procedures, such as a decrease in the practice of having both a removal and a funeral mass, have taken their toll on the firm’s bottom line. “You have to try and pick up the slack on other things (such as head stones) but undertaking is still our core business. You cope by trying to become as efficient as possible, looking at costs (without cutting jobs) and making savings where possible.”
