Event planners launch bereavement service

New Cork-based service offers support with bereavement arrangements to allow people to spend their time focusing on their family and friends

Louise O’Brien and Dara O’Shea of RHEA, a new end-of-life event planning company.

Event planners Dara O’Shea and Louise O’Brien have launched RHEA, a dedicated, end-of-life event planning company to remove the workload of a funeral or memorial.

Designed to complement the services offered by undertakers, Cork-based RHEA will arrange location, music, prayers, printing, flowers, reception and hospitality for end-of-life gatherings.

“The last 18 months have been hard for people who have suffered a bereavement,” said Dara O'Shea. “Many people have missed out on the connections and support that hosting a wake brings.

“Family and friends need the time to be able to grieve properly. Our goal is to offer extra support, allowing people not think about the arrangements, and to spend their time focusing on their family and friends.” 

Prior to launching RHEA.ie, Dara and Louise worked on a wide range events, notably with UCC, including the 2018 visit of HRH Prince of Wales to UCC, charity music events such as A Summer’s Evening on the Quad.

They bring 30 years of event management to the new business, including arranging events for ambassadors, dignitaries and politicians. They also arranged posthumous awards for students of UCC.

Louise O’Brien said: “We bring our considerable experience in event planning and a network of tried and trusted suppliers to bear on funeral experiences, fully understanding how important it is for people to honour a loved one with a dignified and beautiful ‘send off’.

“We truly believe that through developing and delivering a special funeral occasion, meeting the wishes of the family and preferences of the deceased, we are helping our clients through this sad time, so they have special memories of saying goodbye and can better begin their process of grieving.” 

Some bereaved people are now looking to host memorial services for their loved ones who passed away during the Covid lockdowns.

Dara and Louise are offering to host events that conform to the State's evolving pandemic restrictions.

They are also available to advise people in areas such as eco-friendly, sustainable services, options in relation to cremation, burial places and a range of faith-based and non-faith-based funeral services and ceremonies.

Both Dara and Louise also bring the experience of recent personal bereavements to the services they are offering.

Dara said: “Our unique service was born out of personal experience of loss, and seeing firsthand the burden of work that falls on families during the most difficult days of a death. When loved ones should be able to focus on and support each other, most are exhausted by the weight of work and funeral responsibilities.”