A new Funeral Ministry team has been set up in Ballyhaunis Parish, as part of a pilot scheme in the Claremorris & Dunmore Deaneries. With fewer priests covering wider areas, lay people are becoming more involved in carrying out this ministry in parishes across the country.
Earlier this year, parishioners in Ballyhaunis were invited to nominate a member of the local community whom they believed would be a good candidate for this new ministry. The nominees were then invited to an information meeting, and a number of those who attended the meeting in Knock subsequently agreed to attend four training sessions to prepare them for the role, alongside volunteers from a number of other parishes in the two Deaneries.
The team members received a special blessing at Masses on the weekend of 29th/30th November and were introduced to the parish community. Our local Funeral Ministry team consists of Willie Broderick, Mike Byrne, Christina Concannon, Paula Donnellan, Mary Donnelly, Martin Fitzmaurice, Martina Gavin & Mary Murphy.
They will work alongside Fr. Stephen in helping grieving families to prepare for the funerals of their loved ones. From now on, a member of the team will accompany Fr. Stephen for prayers in the Funeral Home, or the home of the deceased person. In the event that a priest is not available, the lay volunteer has been trained to lead the prayers in these situations.
Further training will follow at a later stage to prepare the team for assisting in other funeral rites, and we ask God’s blessing on them as they step into their new pastoral role in our parish.
The picture below was taken on the final training evening in Ballyhaunis Community Hall in November 2025.
