Russell Davison made international headlines in April when he took the unusual decision to sleep next to the body of his wife for six days after her death.
It was a decision he made with his wife before she passed away, as he told The Ryan Tubridy Show on Thursday. After a ten year battle with cancer, his wife, Wendy, wanted an alternative to the undertaker and morgue.
"Originally we were going to have her body in the lounge," said Russell, "But then I realised she would be alone at night so I decided to have her in the bedroom."
"The idea of ringing strangers a few hours after Wendy died to take her away in a black plastic bag, mess with her, pump her full of chemicals and then keep her in a refrigerator away from us for weeks before the funeral just seemed so alien to us."
Russell said the experience gave him time to come to terms with his wife's passing. "I started to grieve very heavily, I just cracked up," he said, "I didn't see it coming. She was my soulmate. As a partner I couldn't have loved anyone more."
Russell said he didn't realise it would strike a chord with so many people, and is now setting up a movement to help other people find alternatives to the traditional burial methods. "All of the media attention has helped," he said, "It's given me a purpose. We are looking into conscious living and conscious dying…It's a very healing thing personally."
You can get more from The Ryan Tubridy Show here.