Film memoirs celebrate lives of loved ones lost to virus
A FILMMAKER is helping grieving families during the pandemic by making “memoirs” to enable loved ones to celebrate the lives of those who’ve died.
Eoin Kernan, from Sutton in north Dublin, said he came up with the idea of producing the short movies after hearing of a funeral attended by just a priest and an undertaker.
He told the Irish Sunday Mirror: “I saw that photograph and I just thought how the pandemic had taken away a key element of how we live as Irish people.
“A traditional Irish funeral might see 100 mourners and now only a handful of people are allowed to attend. It’s a very hard situation, removing love and human touch at the worst possible moment, when a loved one dies.
“The idea behind the memoirs is for people who have lost a family member, friend or loved one to supply video images, photographs and words, including poetry or
meaningful passages, to remember the person who passed away.
“I take all the content and see where the story is and very often it’s a narrative through the years, from when the person was young until they’re older.”
Eoin, 37, a creative director and producer, encourages those who contact him to “celebrate” the lives of those who’ve passed away.
So far he has produced memorials for people to watch and share with family and friends online via Google Drive and said it’s been a “privilege”.
One family’s loss touched Eoin a great deal – a grandfather had passed away after 70 years of marriage and his wife was still alive.
Eoin explained: “They had spent every anniversary together. But this time round he was in hospital and she was in a nursing home.
“Their daughter brought an ipad and they had Facetime on their anniversary. But he passed away with Covid and his wife, though she contracted it, pulled through.
“The family wanted me to create a memoir of the grandfather to bring on the ipad, for his wife to have.”
Eoin carries out this service for free and says it’s his way of doing something positive for the country.
Eoin can be contacted on Twitter @eoinkernan