‘It’s a whole new approach to cemetery care’ at Esker Lawns

A NEW edition to cemetery care in the south west Dublin region recently opened in Lucan, and it’s design and freshly manicured features are some of the main attractions.

Esker Lawn Cemetery opened in October, but it is proving to be a popular site with customers, due to it’s tranquil setting, immense attention to detail put into the whole facility, and offerings that provide lifetime assurances.

One of those assurances is a policy on headstones, with seven types, which conform to a style, which means no single outrageous headstone will impact the others.

“It’s a whole new approach to cemetery care, the layout, design, the facility was built over the last four to five years, and it is not your typical cemetery,” said Paul Cullen, Operations Manager, Esker Lawn Cemetery.

Nothing was left to chance when designing the place, including proper grass laid down so women’s heels are not getting stuck in soil at a funeral, toilet facilities, and pleasant visual features.

“If you have 100 people attending a burial, that is 100 first impressions,” said Paul.

“It’s a parkland setting, nice backdrop, the site here is particularly suited for this purpose, very few buildings on view. Within the boundary, you can choose between a plot near a lake, a valley, trees, it’s a beautiful landscape.”

In time, burial plots will be restricted to locals, but at the moment, Esker Lawn Cemetery is not restricted, as residents seek out a variety of options.

Selected pre-plots are available to pre-purchase, along with traditional burial plots and ash burial plots, along with a memoriam wall.

“The trend in Dublin right now (burials and cremations) is about 50/50,” said Paul.

With space an ongoing issue at cemeteries in Dublin, some family members may have ashes, and nowhere to put them, but Esker Lawns has a solution.

“Our small ashes burial spot is very popular. When people come here to have a look around, and see that you could buy a small space without the outlay of a full grave,” said Paul.

Staff were inundated in the opening weeks of the facility, attributed to demographic factors in Lucan and the unique nature of the facility, which is different from your run of the mill local authority owned cemetery.

“Lucan is a mature area, we were overwhelmed at the uptake when we opened, a lot of senior citizens planning ahead. With the local cemetery closed, we got huge interest. Even 12 months prior to opening, we got quite a few hundred enquiries.

“A main motivator is people want to stay in the area after they are gone, and they also want to relieve family of the burden.”

Planning ahead is a feature of the responsible generation, and with death an inevitability, Cullen says Esker Lawns is a good environment to provide reassurance for both the living and the dead.

“It is a comfortable place to visit, and choose when you are not under pressure,” he said.

“When somebody dies, a lot of arrangements have to be made quickly, and if there is no grave, that is a big decision and a difficult one.”

Feedback has been good from clients but also from undertakers, who Paul says enjoy the setting.

“Funeral directors love that this place is recommended, it makes them look good. We all have to take care of family. Our service team blend in at the funeral, they don’t wear high vis jackets or anything like that.

“Word of mouth has been good, and we welcome people to come and visit, take a look around, and see for themselves how unique this place is.”