We need to think about death when we’re alive

Gráinne McGuinness’s column (“It’s good to plan ahead for the day you will be dead”, April 26) gives some practical advice to those wishing to avoid unexpected and unwelcome financial costs associated with funerals. It also raises some interesting points about our attitudes to dying, death and bereavement.

Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF) research in 2014 found almost six out of 10 of us think that there is not enough discussion about dying and death, but that two-thirds of us have never discussed our preferences for end of life care. Almost four in 10 have never thought about drawing up a will.

It is good to plan for the day you will be dead, but it is equally important to plan for the days that you will be living up to your death.