PEAI in University College Cork

Well done to the Professional Embalmers’ Association of Ireland for the successful event in May held in the University College Cork! The meeting was a huge success with the attendance of almost 60 embalmers at the meeting. This is another notable event set by the PEAI in the history of the funeral sector in Ireland.

New Members

New members were welcomed after having awarded their certificates of PEAI Membership. These new members will be a great additional voice to our organisation as they have experience in the industry longer than some of the existing members of the PEAI. A lot of these new members are embalmers practicing for a long length in this country but did not possess any formal standard of training and qualification. Through the joint efforts of The Deathcare Academy of Ireland and The Irish College of Funeral Directing and Embalming, the Upskilling Course in Embalming was offered to candidates who have qualified in a number of preliminary requirements set by the DCA Examinations Board of Mortuary Science (DCAEBMS) and the Professional Embalmers’ Association of Ireland (PEAI). All candidates went through a week of intensive seminar and theory examinations. Successful candidates were then required to attend the Objective Structured Practical Examination (OSPE) which was facilitated by DCA Examination Board of Mortuary.

Speakers

Speaker Michael Cronin, Prosector in Anatomy and Technical Officer in University College Cork spoke at the meeting regarding donation of bodies to science. He explained the process of donating a body and also spoke about the regulations that are in place in order for a person to donate their body to science.

Speaker George R. Kelder, Assistant Executive Director of the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association, Manasquan, NJ spoke at the meeting explaining the present situation of donation of body organs and tissues to be transplanted in the United States. He described how embalmers in the United States deal with preparation of deceased persons to be viewed whose family or who have themselves donated many specific body organs and/or tissues to be transplanted. This was truly a very interesting talk given by George as it had given PEAI members a well advanced knowledge and education on such situation which may likely be encountered in Ireland in the near future.

Chairperson, David McGowan played a recording in which he was interviewed by a local radio station in connection with a Road Safety Authority of Ireland. The recoding was from a talk he gave to a group of at least 1500 second level students at the Royal TF, Castlebar, Co. Mayo earlier in this year. It was the first year a funeral director was introduced to talk to the students in this particular event organized every year. In this interview, David explained his role at a road traffic accident. It is sometimes difficult to explain the job we do to the members of the public as they sometimes do not know all that we do and how we cope with the grief ourselves. David explained these events in detail through the mind of a funeral director. The positive feedback received from the public in response to this talk was exceptional gaining a huge demand for several replay of the actual recording of the live interview.

Tour of the Anatomy FLAME Laboratory

The guided tour of the Anatomy FLAME Laboratory was astounding and highly educational. It had opened a new dimension of knowledge and awareness of the human body and other educational and scientific purpose of embalming. The group was given exclusive access to see the state-of-the-art facilities for anatomical dissection and a huge display of anatomical models and well-preserved specimens and valuable artifacts dating over a hundred years back. Another section of the building was dedicated to embalming and dissection of cadavers donated to the university and also the fridges where they are kept. The laboratory featured modern equipment (e.g. high end steam cleaning machine, autoclave, air cycle control systems, etc.) and modified machines (e.g. as industrial dishwasher, cutters, etc.) in a pressure graded and engineered laboratory which is every embalmer’s dream.

PEAI is continually be doing educational events and tours for the benefit of its members. For news and events visit www.professionalembalmers.ie