Broadcaster promises to ensure eulogies will be short when it comes to his own funeral

"I don’t want any of them to talk about me for more than two minutes," he reveals in the latest episode of his RTÉ Radio podcast series, Insights with Sean O’Rourke.

The deliberations on death were down to the fact that the Galway journalist and broadcaster was chatting with death doula and play therapist, Laura Coleman.

Originally from Donegal, Laura works as a psychologist and psychotherapist for the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and in private practice as a Play Therapist and lecturer. And in the podcast, she describes her work as ‘helping people to live until they die’.

That prompted her to ask a question of the interviewer, querying why he hadn’t more fully planned for his death and funeral.

“Just while we're sitting here and it’s just me and you, isn’t it a bit unusual that you haven’t prepared; you've prepared for your retirement, I’m sure. But you haven’t prepared for the absolute inevitable; the absolute guaranteed inevitable,” she says.

And that prompted him to admit that he does thinking about often.

“I think about it often enough, but I don’t have any preparations. I know there's one particular song I want my kids to sing. They recorded for my wife's 60th birthday, it’s ‘May the Road Rise to Meet You’.

“And there's a beautiful recording of it, I had it played… it was the last thing I did with Today with Sean O'Rourke about five years ago. Beyond that, look I don’t want any of them to talk about me for more than two minutes,” he says.

Laura Coleman’s own work has left her with no fear of death, when her time comes.

“To be fair I think I’m lucky that I’m one of the people that I have no fear of death. Absolutely no fear of death. If my time is up in the morning, I’m ready,” she says.

And she equally encourages people to have those hard conversations about dying and dealing with death – including involving children.

“When we don’t bring kids to funerals, what we're saying is, there is something here that might hurt you or there's something there that isn’t good for you,” she says.

“Instead of, this is the inevitable. I think if we talked to kids in national schools about death and dying people would live their life more fully”.

The conversation in this tenth episode of Insights with Sean O’Rourke involves references to illness, suicide, trauma and death – and there is a link to a webpage with relevant helplines availed in the show notes.

It, and previous episodes – including interviews with Catherline Connolly, Ollie Jennings and Eamon Ó Cuív – are all available on the RTÉ Players or wherever you get your podcasts from.

Pictured: Insights...Sean O’Rourke with death doula, Laura Coleman.