A Cork company is aiming to place QR codes on gravestones to help tell the stories of dead loved ones.
Cork company The Story Of will work with families to tell a more complete story about their deceased loved ones and overcome the limited space available on gravestones.
The company is aiming to create a bespoke webpage featuring a series of photos and videos about a person's life.
The webpage can then be accessed via a QR code placed on a person's grave, while they will also be placed on urns and remembrance cards.
Judie Russell, who founded The Story Of, said around 30,000 people die in Ireland every year, adding that their personality and life story often dies with them.
"Around 60 million people on this planet die each year and for the most part their stories, their advice and their personalities die with them and capturing all of this would have a positive impact on different groups," Russell told TheCork.ie.
"When older people are given space to reminisce on their lives, it can be of huge benefit to their mental health.
"Also studies have shown that when children learn family stories it creates a shared history, strengthens emotional bonds, and helps them make sense of their experiences when something senseless happens like a global pandemic."
The Story Of's virtual headstones allow families to capture, preserve and share precious memories, recording a loved one's legacy through words, images, videos, and audio clips.
Russell founded the company along with Luke Murphy and Danny O'Donovan.
O'Donovan's grandfather was a well-known boxer in Cork named Danzer Nagle and his grandson wanted to tell his full story to people who passed his grave. He placed a QR code on the gravestone and told TheCork.ie that he hopes to embed a similar code on a plaque erected in his grandfather's honor by the Cork Ex-Boxers Association.
Russell, O'Donovan, and Murphy met through University College Cork's Entrepreneurial Network and are now seeking to attract investment so that they can expand the scope of the company.
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