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Child Item

RIP.ie bought by the Irish Times

Hermy

There was piece on Liveline yesterday about the recent sale of RIP.ie to the Irish Times.

As well as the question of whether the site would continue be free to view there were also concerns expressed by a genealogist about the archive of death notices and condolences that RIP.ie has amassed over the years and what is to become of that.

Link here if anyone wants to listen back:- https://www.rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/22391502/

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z80CPU

No fan of the Irish Times. I can see the adverts for death notice applications and anniversaries. My dad used the Irish Times to publish mums death notice. I didn't use the Irish Times or any print media when dad died because there was no need to use print media.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058350208/rip-ie-bought-by-the-irish-times

Usual misinformed crap

Rip is an "advertising" site. They make their substantial profit (,reduced last couple of years because larger salaries and pensions were paid) from charging for the notices - just like myhome.ie charges for listing a property.

If myhome started to charge to look at the house adverts would anyone pay? - very very few. This would lead to total destruction of main revenue stream.

EXACT same with rip.ie - it's very basic business, but you'll will find people who will search for a negative in anything even if it makes no sense whatsoever.

Irish times also owns myhome

SodiumCooled

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122096165#Comment_122096165

Their website would contradict with what you said. It says publishing a death notice is a free service as are other family notices. I actually don’t know how they make money.

steinbock123

Anyone know how much it was sold for ??

55Gem

There is a charge for other family notices, Months Mine €20, Anniversary €30 and so on. Click on Create a Family Notice near the bottom of the main page on RIP.ie.I don’t have it to hand but will check the invoice for the undertaker to see if there a a charge for the Death Notice for my mother. In the FAQ it says Death Notices are free.

elperello

RIP is an excellent resource.

I hope the IT take care of the archive.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122096233#Comment_122096233

I'm not sure it is free?

When the funeral director published a death notice for one of my family member's we did pay a charge or that, (something minimal like €10).

Now - what I can't tell you is if that was a charge applied by the funeral director as part of their service, or an RIP.ie charge they paid on our behalf and billed us for as part of the funeral costs.

(eta) yep, went back and checked the bill from the Funeral Director, the cost listed for RIP.ie was €10. This was in 2020.

cobham

I tried to get my brother's death into RIP but was told it could only be put up by an undertaker. I put a notice in the Irish Times but they also wanted confirmation from the Australian undertaker. I thought RIP might just 'copy and paste' but no.

JVince

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122096233#Comment_122096233

seems its the advertising that they make most of their income from.

And therefore there's no chance they will charge a fee to view notices as advertising revenue will dry up. I suspect that may offer "premium listings" for a fee at some point with basic listings staying free.

Jellybaby_1

I had a feeling something was afoot last year I think, I had asked here about it. I used to have several different options available to me on RIP.ie which was brilliant and I had a number of family names come up. It seems to be the norm now to include names of children, siblings, in-laws, all very helpful for the family tree. But when it changed I couldn't get alerts for particular parishes as I did before. Hope IT improves things.

pinkypinky

The Irish Times has confirmed that RIP.ie will still be free to use.

Tell me how

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122096165#Comment_122096165

Usual misinformed crap
Rip is an "advertising" site. They make their substantial profit (,reduced last couple of years because larger salaries and pensions were paid) from charging for the notices - just like myhome.ie charges for listing a property.
If myhome started to charge to look at the house adverts would anyone pay? - very very few. This would lead to total destruction of main revenue stream.
EXACT same with rip.ie - it's very basic business, but you'll will find people who will search for a negative in anything even if it makes no sense whatsoever.
Irish times also owns myhome

I know what you mean.

kincaid

I hear they're charging from January2025 for death notices and condolences

Hermy

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122951922#Comment_122951922

Where did you hear this?

Was it a news item you read somewhere?

[Deleted User]

Given the IT's leanings, I wonder will they now start having Róisín Ingle and Brianna Parkins write dirges lamenting the death of anyone who agreed with them, while having Fintan O'Toole celebrate the death of any "far right" deceased who opposed government policy 😉

pinkypinky

They already charge to put death notices on RIP.ie - I remember it when a family member died a decade ago.

Mick Tator

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122954870#Comment_122954870

RIP was free but sometimes the undertaker invoiced a tenner as a 'handling fee' . The new RIP pricing will commence Jan 1 at €100 per entry. That probably is cheaper than a newspaper insert fee. Funeral expenses are ripe for an investigation by the Competition Authority, a total rip-off by undertakers from families at their most vulnerable time.

CH3OH

Here is An Irish Independent article

Think it will be the death of the site

elperello

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122967589#Comment_122967589

Thanks for the article.

I'm not sure it will mean the end of the site.

It's a very useful and trusted resource.

A charge to log in or leave a condolence would have done a lot more damage.

LambshankRedemption

I posted the below in the Liveline thread:

I'm hoping someone creates a copy site, and announces the death of rip.ie, on RIP.ie.
100 euros is taking the piss to be honest. I have just been on rip.ie and in Dublin, there were 49 deaths recorded on 17/12/2024. That would JUST cover the county of Dublin, That means the Irish times would be earning 4900 from Dublin alone - per day.
Yes, websites are not free, but there is nothing fancy on their site. You'd need, charitably, one dedicated backend server, one dedicated front end server? You can get a dedicated server from Blacknight for 150 a month. So bringing in easily 200k a month, and costing 300 a month in server rental.
Anything to do with funerals is expensive. I think we got charged 50 quid for the undertaker to just put up the Rip.ie note. People ask no questions because its usually an upsetting time. IMO, this is a very cynical move by the Irish Times and I do predict the site becoming much less popular.

Ozvaldo

Scandalous another little bit of Ireland sold out

893bet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122967791#Comment_122967791

Hopefully. Pure greed.

Simple to replicate. And easy promote.

Strumms

no difference. Funeral directors charge thousands already for a funeral package so an extra €100 on a bill will not be noticed.

Every day in Ireland roughly 100 people die.

So that has the potential to be €10,000 revenue per day for Rip.ie . Add in advertising revenue …all the undertakers, funeral homes and flower arrangers who advertise there…

In 2022 they only had 5 employees plus the two owners of the business.

banie01

~~Time to launch my clone site, call it mournhub.ie and charge €20 a listing!~~

~~I'll be richer than the Coulsons in weeks~~!

Lads, you will never guess who owns the mournhub.ie domain?!?

Well played RIP.ie, well played!

Strumms

die.ie has a better ring to it !

drury..

Why would they charge a €100

Must be cos death is a rip off in general, ah sure let's slap a 100 on it not 20 they'll pay

Larbre34

Youllneverguesswhosdeadnow.ie

I have no problem with this fee. Its a commercial entity, after all. And as the fella says, if you're good at something, never do it for free.

A private funeral averages at €4,000 in Ireland anyway, not including any catering costs, so a hundred quid for the death notice and book of condolence is hardly worth getting up in a heap over.

55Gem

Is it a charge per notice or a yearly charge for funeral directors?

The article says €100 fee for funeral directors to list death notices, not to list a death notice.

Celmullet

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122968004#Comment_122968004

This is a good question. If it is an annual fee for funeral homes I don't think people would be upset, but per listing seems like grave robbing

Stationmaster

How much is it to put a death notice in one of the national newspapers?