DUBLIN CEMETERIES TRUST

The Communications Clinic began working with Dublin Cemeteries Trust (DCT) in 2023. Dublin Cemeteries Trust is a charitable organisation established in 1828, and is Ireland's leading and most experienced community of Cemeteries and Crematoria.

The Trust oversees the work of over 100 staff across five cemeteries and three crematoria in Dardistown, Glasnevin, Goldenbridge, Newlands Cross and Palmerstown, in the delivery of burial and cremation services to thousands of families each year. The Trust also operates a very popular visitor centre at Glasnevin, Ireland’s National Cemetery which is the base for its award winning walking tours, Education, Heritage and Genealogy services.

Details of services provided:

We began our working relationship by holding a strategy session and story planning session which allowed us to draw up a media plan. We then provided media training to the Trust’s spokespeople before implementing the media plan. We have also facilitated away days for the Board and the Executive team and provided customer service training to front of house staff.

Media Relations

All of our proactive media relations has been strategic. To date, we’ve placed interviews in the Sunday Independent on the topic of cremations as well as interviews for a published book on RTE Radio 1, Today FM and Newstalk and regional media. Glasnevin Cemetery has also featured on RTE’s Summer Show and Virgin Media’s Ireland AM.

On Bloomsday in 2023 and 2024, we secured interviews on RTE’s News at One, Six One and Nine O’Clock News, as well as securing coverage on RTE’s Drama on One, RTE.ie, Newstalk, the Irish Times, thejournal.ie, Irish Daily Mail and Irish Daily Star.

In July 2024, we re-launched the O’Connell Tower at Glasnevin Cemetery following an upgrade. We invited the media to a launch at the cemetery followed by a tour. A spokesperson did an interview on RTE’s Morning Ireland ahead of the launch and RTE broadcast the One O’Clock News live from the cemetery. It also featured on the Six One, Nine O’Clock News and RTE.ie. We secured further coverage in the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Irish Sun, thejournal.ie, Newstalk, Today FM, 98FM, Sunshine, Northern Sound, Spin 1038, Raidió na Life, FM104, Kerry’s Eye and Meath Chronicle, Talk Radio Europe amongst others.

In the weeks and months following the launch, we continued to promote the tours O’Connell Tower and secured coverage in the Irish Daily Mail, rollercoaster.ie, the Irish Times and Virgin Media Ireland returned to O’Connell Tower to present a three hour show live on Ireland AM. Coming up to Halloween, we further promoted the tours at Glasnevin Cemetery and secured coverage in evoke.ie and irishcentral.com

Glasnevin Cemetery had a 39% increase in tower climbers from the period of June to mid-September 2024 compared to the same period in 2023.