The vocabulary around Irish remembrance printing shifts by county and by generation, which makes ordering confusing at the worst possible time. Here is what each term means in practice.
Mortuary card
The older term, still common with families over sixty and in parts of the midlands and west. A mortuary card is the printed keepsake with the photograph, name, dates and a prayer — exactly what younger families call a memorial card.
If someone asks you for “the mortuary cards”, they mean the cards handed out after the funeral or at the month's memory.
Memoriam card
Same object, different word, often used for anniversary cards specifically — “in memoriam” wording on a card printed for a first or tenth anniversary rather than for the funeral itself.
Memorial card
The standard modern term, and the one we use across the site. It covers folding cards, bookmarks and wallet cards — all personalised keepsakes carrying a photograph, dates and a verse or prayer.
Mass card
This one is genuinely different. A mass card is given to a bereaved family by someone else, to say that a mass will be offered for the person who died. It is bought from a parish, a religious order or an authorised seller, and signed by a priest.
You do not print mass cards for your own family member. If you need cards to hand out in memory of someone, you need memorial cards.
Acknowledgement or thank you card
The fourth item, and the one families think of last. Acknowledgement cards are posted a few weeks after the funeral to thank everyone who sympathised, sent a mass card, or helped out. Wording is short and gracious, and often includes a line saying a mass has been offered for their intentions.
Which do you need?
If you want a keepsake with a photograph to hand out: memorial cards, in whichever format suits. If you want to thank people afterwards: acknowledgement cards. If you want to tell another family a mass will be said for their loved one: a mass card from your parish.
If you are still not sure, ring us and describe the situation — we will tell you plainly which one you need, even if it is not something we print.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a mortuary card the same as a memorial card?
- Yes. Mortuary card is the older Irish term for the same printed keepsake — photograph, name, dates and a prayer or verse.
- What is a mass card in Ireland?
- A card given to a bereaved family confirming that a mass will be offered for the person who died. It is obtained through a parish, religious order or authorised seller, not printed privately.
- Do we send memorial cards or thank you cards after a funeral?
- Both, for different reasons. Memorial cards are keepsakes handed out in memory; thank you or acknowledgement cards are posted to thank those who sympathised.
Sources and further reading
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