Barry grew up for his first few years on Main Street, Macroom, before moving to Masseytown, before settling with his wife Ann in “the last house in the parish of Macroom, on the Ballinagree side!”

Along with his role as a funeral director, Barry is known to many in the town for his window cleaning business, but about 20 years ago Martin Fitz-Gerald asked him to give him a hand moving the Macroom Bookshop to its current location, and he has been with Fitz-Gerald’s ever since!

Barry likes the fact that there is no set routine to the working life of a funeral director, every funeral is different, but as he says himself “when a grieving family thanks you afterwards, you know that the job has been done right”, and this gives him a great sense of satisfaction that he was able to offer help to a grieving family in whatever way he could.

Owen grew up in Glen Park and now lives in Meadowlands, Macroom, with his wife Mags and family. Despite the profoundly serious nature of the work, Owen believes that the team at Fitz-Gerald’s share a powerful sense of camaraderie as the service provided is continually evolving, and all opinions within the team matter.

Furthermore, Owen often finds that days after a funeral, relatives of the deceased will approach him and simply thank him for his contribution to the funeral - a simple acknowledgement which he finds extremely rewarding.

Owen is an ardent Leeds Utd supporter and avid motorcycle enthusiast and is known to many in the wider Macroom area for his work as a delivery driver for Lynch’s Bakery.

Paul is a native of Hartnett’s Cross, just outside Macroom, but now lives in Raleigh with his wife Bridget. Paul believes that the team at Fitz-Gerald’s is driven by a shared set of values, that provide help and support to grieving families when they are at their most vulnerable. Central to these values is dignity which Paul feels has been instilled in the team by Martin & Bill.

Paul will be known to many in Macroom as a caretaker at Bishop McEgan College, Macroom and as a firefighter with Macroom Fire & Rescue. He enjoys gardening & woodturning in his free time and has been recently converted to Beekeeping.

MMary grew up in the Aghabolluge/ Donoghmore/ Stuake area. Married to Bill and a busy Mum of 3 children, Mary originally trained as a chef in CIT/ MTU and feels that a lot of the experience she gained while working in the hospitality industry is well utilised in her role with Fitz-Gerald’s, that of being focused on the needs of people.

As a funeral director and administrator, she believes that she is tasked with the responsibility of caring for the deceased and their families with respect and empathy.

Bill Fitz-Gerald is the eight generation of his family to be involved in Funeral Directing and has continued to observe the huge sense of family tradition, while evolving the service provision to meet the community’s expectations in the 21st century. In 2020, Bill’s wife Mary (neé Barrett), originally from Donoughmore joined the team.

As a funeral director, Bill believes that he is privileged to be a part of one the most caring professions, and that the Fitz-Gerald’s team of experienced funeral directors are dedicated to honouring life in a manner that respects the wishes of every family that they serve -“Our family caring for yours”.

Bill holds formal professional qualifications in funeral practice and embalming. As a member of the Castle Demesne Committee and through his three children’s involvement in local sporting clubs, Bill is deeply rooted in the local community.

Martin started working as a funeral director at 15 years of age and he has witnessed the Funeral Directing Service develop and evolve since he commenced in the 1960’s. Martin and his late wife Margaret (nee Lynch, South Square, Macroom) oversaw the construction of the first funeral home on a green field site in Ireland in 1968. Watching his parents before him, Martin has seen the role of Funeral Directors change: From something done for the deceased, to something done for the living -those who grieve the loss of a loved one.

Martin has contributed to a range of community and civic groups in Macroom and the surrounding area. He has participated and contributed to the establishment of the Mountain Dew Festivals; Top O’ The Town; Macroom Junior Chamber of Commerce; The Development Committee of Macroom Mart; Old Age Pension Committee; Macroom Twinning with Burby, France and Marcello, Italy; Macroom Development Association; The Lee Valley Enterprise Board; The Bealick Mill Restoration Project and The Briery Gap Project.