On the day of the funeral, after the tragic death of his son, a friend said to me, “Go home, tonight and give your children a hug because you never know when you might not see them again.â€?

His comment brought tears to my eyes, but I did as he said.

His advice came to mind listening to the RTE news this afternoon.A school bus travelling on a rural road in Co Offaly in the Irish midlands overturned, killing one fifteen year old boy and leaving thirty-four others injured.

When you see your children off to school in the morning, you think they are safe.In rural Ireland, you think your son catching the school bus to a rural school run by a religious order is the most safe thing he could possibly do.

What can be going through the minds of the boy’s family this evening? You do your best for your kids and you try to ensure that they are safe and well and something like this happens.

The questions will rumble on about road safety and vehicle testing and such other matters, but none of that is going to lessen by the minutest degree the heartbreak and the pain of the family. Our son is fifteen and I could not even begin to imagine how we would cope in such circumstances.

Give your kids a hug tonight, because there is a family in rural Ireland who tonight won’t have their son to hug.