A chance conversation with a good friend led PR and events planner Toni Wall to the door of Susan Guinan, a director of her family’s business, Massey Bros Funeral Homes, in Blackrock. “I was coming from an appointment when Susan recognised me and waved me in,” says Wall. “We had a coffee and she showed me around their beautifully appointed funeral home. While chatting, I mentioned how I’d love a job like Susan’s. I don’t think Susan took it seriously at the time. But I was serious.“ A week or so later, the conversation still very much on my mind, I called our mutual friend Joanne to get her opinion. As she knows both of us inside-out, she thought it would be a great move, so she called Susan. Susan asked me to pop in for a proper chat and offered me a training position as a funeral arranger. She knew, while I had no experience in her industry, I had a valuable and transferable skill set. While some would say call this a career change, I would call it a career pivot, in that it will allow me to work with my existing clients, while also working at Massey Bros.”

Wall works with charitable organisations such as the Peter McVerry Trust, The Chernobyl Children’s Foundation and Reachout.ie and will continue to do so. Charity clearly begins at home – Wall’s father Michael has been a member of St Vincent De Paul for over 60 years and founded their charity shops. She is one of six children in a very close-knit family. “My natural compass was always set to caring for others, I have an ability to connect with people on an emotional level, a skill required to be a diligent funeral arranger. In my own company [Wall2Wall PR] I emphasised attention to detail, which also serves me well in my new role. Every detail must be arranged in such a short time when organising a loved one’s final journey. “Massey Bros pledges to ‘honour life’. I understand that implicitly now, watching Susan and the Massey family, as they accompany other families at their most vulnerable time. If I can help make bereavement any easier – helping people to say goodbye to their loved ones with respect, love and dignity, then my job is done. More than that, I believe we all need to honour the lives we are given every single day by living them to the full. Pivoting my career over a coffee during Covid-19 has most definitely changed my outlook on life. It’s a decision I am very grateful to have made.”