Battle between two funeral operators takes fresh twist

The battle between the two family-owned main players in Dublin’s lucrative funeral market in the south Dublin suburb of Goatstown has taken a fresh twist.

This follows Fanagans Funeral Directors lodging a planning application with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to establish a new funeral home at 6 Willowfield Park, Goatstown, Dublin 14.

The move by Fanagans follows only weeks after Massey Bros confirmed that it is to open its 10th branch in Dublin beside well known publican, Charlie Chawke’s The Goat Bar and Grill in Goatstown.

Fanagans had objected to Mr Chawke’s funeral home planning application claiming that there was no local need for an additional funeral home for the Goatstown area.

However, Fanagans Funeral Directors’ new application, if it gets the green light, will now result in two new funeral homes for the area.

Fanagans opted not to appeal Mr Chawke’s Council grant of permission to An Bord Pleanála, which at the very least may have delayed the project for up to one year due to a current backlog at the appeals board.

MD of Massey Bros, Susan Guinan confirmed today that “Massey Bros has no plans to lodge an objection against Fanagans’ application for a new funeral home”.

Ms Guinan said: “We believe that healthy competition is beneficial, ensuring that families have access to a range of services that can accommodate their needs and preferences.”

She added: “We welcome the opportunity to offer our services alongside other providers in the area and believe that the community will benefit from having multiple options.”

In the planning application, Fanagans is seeking a change of retail to funeral home use at 6 Willowfield Park, Goatstown.

The funeral operator has deep pockets to pursue its new venture.

The most recent accounts show that Fanagans Funeral Directors Ltd had accumulated profits of €9.5m at the end of 2022 after recording post tax profits of €413,684 as revenue climbed to €11.8m.

Abridged accounts for rival, Massey Brothers (Funerals) Ltd show that it recorded post tax profits of €314,737 in 2022.

In an 11-page planning report lodged with the Fanagans planning application, Manahan Planners states that the proposed change of use to ‘funeral home’ “involves the provision of a vital community service in an appropriate location”.

Manahan Planners states that there would be no impacts on the private amenity of adjacent properties and will not result in any traffic congestion.

The planning report states that the visiting hours for the funeral home would be minimal and periodic and the premises “will operate as an adjunct to the applicants premises in Dundrum”.

The report states that “the proposal ensures the ongoing viability of a commercial premises in a local centre and provides a much-valued local service to the surrounding residential areas”.

Manahan Planners state that the proposal “is a low intensity one where only one private chapel is proposed in the building compared with the industry average of two or three chapels and therefore it is expected that there would be no more than two funerals per week”.

Ms Guinan said that Massy Bros own plans for the funeral home in Goatstown “are progressing well”.

A member of the third generation of the Massey family to run the business, Ms Guinan said: “While the exact date is still to be finalised, we are making significant strides towards the completion of what will provide comfortable and substantial accommodation for bereaved families and members of the local community.”

She said: “This new facility is designed to accommodate large gatherings, suitable for wakes, reposing, or civil ceremonies, with adequate parking to meet the needs of our customers.”

A decision is due on the planning application in August.

Reporting by Gordon Deegan