Planning a funeral is difficult under the best of circumstances. When a normal funeral for hundreds of people, as Irish people are used to, is not possible – a virtual funeral might be an alternative. A virtual funeral is when either a portion or all guests ”attend” the funeral service from their own homes, via a computer.

Most modern funeral homes are familiar with the concept and may be able to give you support and might have some of the tech tools you require. A lot of religious services now live-stream their funeral or memorial events.

Below is a list of things to consider and plan for a virtual funeral if you wish to manage yourself. Our list is based on using Zoom as your platform. The advantage of Zoom is that it is the platform that people are most familiar with, but other providers such as Skype Broadcast or Google Meet may also be suitable to your needs.

Choose a location

Go with a location that has a strong internet connection and good lighting. Some venues might be more suitable and set up for a virtual service than others.

Plan the service as you would a standard funeral

Make decisions on the order of service, words of welcome, prayers, readings, poems, music, eulogies etc.

How to invite guests on Zoom

It is best to send digital invitations if the funeral is a virtual one. On Zoom, this is easily done by setting the date and time of the funeral and Zoom will create specific links for this event which you can then send to guests.

Visuals and music

You can make a virtual funeral very special by including visuals and music. You can prepare a slideshow or video, play music and include other elements that help celebrate the life of the deceased.

Individual meetings

Zoom is perfect to organise virtual meetings with individual family members before or after the funeral for consoling chats or to coordinate details of the funeral. You can assign other people to co-host the Zoom event.

Provide assistance to guests

As not everyone who wants to attend the online funeral will necessarily be comfortable in the virtual sphere, make sure to send clear instructions and tips to everyone before the event, how to accept the invitation, how to enable audio and video, what technology will guests and so on.

As with any technology, things can go wrong. Try to run through the entire event a couple of times beforehand to make sure it will run as smoothly as possible. However, also remind yourself that nobody will expect a perfectly smooth event under the circumstances!

For people who would rather assign a professional to organise and hold the virtual funeral, a list of virtual funeral providers is available on the RIP website. The options generally available are:

  • Online viewing: a service provider records the funeral ceremony on video and makes it available on a secure online platform for mourners to watch on demand within a few hours of the actual funeral.
  • Live streaming: a service provider records the funeral ceremony on video and simultaneously streams it live for people to watch at home. This option is only possible where a good internet connection is available in the funeral venue.
  • Permanent recording: a permanent record of the funeral ceremony on DVD or USB storage device.