Public funerals have now been banned in two Catholic dioceses as part of efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus. The church says the move is necessary to protect the public and because many priests are elderly and considered vulnerable.
Funeral masses ended last week in Down and Connor, which includes Belfast, and is the second largest diocese after Dublin. The policy has also now been introduced in the diocese of Clogher, which has 85 churches across five counties.
It includes all of county Monaghan, virtually all of Fermanagh, a large part of Tyrone, and also has parishes in Donegal and Louth.
The diocese has also ended baptisms, marriages and individual confessions as well as Sunday mass. The move means that for the foreseeable