‘To inspire our members to achieve standards of excellence, in order to help them serve their communities and represent the funeral sector as one voice, in a professional and client focused manner’.
The IAFD was established in 1979 as a group of funeral directors working together to improve client service standards and to provide representation for the members. It continues today to introduce initiatives aimed at achieving excellence in funeral service and in a representative role. Its cornerstone is an evolving Code of Practice which members are obliged to abide by, underpinned by a Quality Standards detailing the level of competence a family can expect when dealing with an IAFD member.
IAFD currently has approximately 260 full member firms. It is estimated that our members conduct 80% of the funerals arranged annually on the island of Ireland. The IAFD also has Associate Members who provide services and products required for the provision of funeral services - many of these are indigenous businesses providing employment throughout Ireland. IAFD also has a number of overseas members.
The IAFD Code of Practice applies to all full members and ensures a consistent set of standards that clients of IAFD funeral directors should expect. Further details about our code of practice can be found by clicking here.
IAFD promotes sector specific education and currently provides a course entitled the Funeral Directing Certificate Award (FDCA) which has been designed to increase knowledge, improve skills and enhance competencies. IAFD provides it's training on a not-for-profit-basis.
Further information can be found here Irish Association Of Funeral Directors (iafd.ie)
The IAFD is governed by a Board of Directors which is elected by its members bi-annually in General Meeting. The directors are men and women from all parts of Ireland who are highly experienced in the provision of funeral services. They come from varying backgrounds and different sizes of businesses and are located around Ireland in urban and rural areas. They provide their services on a voluntary basis and are passionate about what they do. The diagram above shows how the board of directors of the IAFD organises its activities in order to achieve the strategic objectives of the association.
1978 - 1980 – Rom Massey
1980 - 1981 – J. McConnell
1982 - 1983 – Alan J. Fanagan
1984 - 1986 – William D. O’Connor
1987 - 1988 – PJ Mulhall
1988 - 1990 – G. McArdle
1990 - 1992 – Peter Kelly
1992 - 1994 - Conor Massey
1994 - 1995 – Pat Gleasure
1995 - 1996 – David Fanagan
1996 - 1997 – John Thompson
1997 - 1998 – J. Kevin O’Connor
1998 - 1999 – Thomas Sharkey
1999 - 2000 – Peter Dixon
2000 - 2001 – Bobby Morrison
2001 - 2002 – Eamon Glennon
2002 - 2003 – Cathriona O’Flaherty
2003 - 2004 – Stephen Collier
2004 - 2005 – Gus Nichols
2005 - 2006 – Gerard Quinn
2006 - 2007 – John O’Donoghue
2007 - 2008 – James Brown
2008 - 2009 – Finbarr O’Connor
2009 - 2010 – Jonathan Stafford
2010 - 2011 – Graham Gleasure
2011 - 2012 – Seamas Griffin
2012 - 2013 – Joanne Cooney
2013 - 2014 – Henry Black
2014 - 2015 – Michael Crowley
2015 - 2016 – Gerard Clarke
2016 - 2017 – John Foley
2017 - 2018 – Mary Cunniffe
2018 - 2019 – Edwina Fitzgerald
2019 - 2020 – Robert Fanagan
2020 - 2021 – Donal Forde
2021 - 2022 - Dara Gillespie
2022 - 2023 - Tom Lawless
James Brown
Joanne Cooney
John Foley
Conor Massey
Gus Nicholls
Val O’Connor
Philip O’Sullivan
Gerard Quinn
General Enquiries - enquiries@iafd.ie
President – Niall Mulligan - president@iafd.ie
1st Vice-President – Niamh Sweeney - education@iafd.ie
Honorary Treasurer – Pat Smyth - treasurer@iafd.ie
Honorary Secretary – Paul Reilly - secretary@iafd.ie
Redress and Mediation Committee - Tom Lawless - rmc@iafd.ie
Membership Officer – Fintan Cooney - membership@iafd.ie
Education Officer – Niamh Sweeney - education@iafd.ie
Public Relations Officer – John Mark Griffin - pro@iafd.ie