It was a homecoming without the embracing comforts that home promises.

Leo Moran of the Saw Doctors posted the following tribute on his Facebook page to the six students killed in California

The families of the Irish students killed in a balcony collapse in the US have said the response of their friends to the tragedy is a testament to the bonds between them.

The Berkeley balcony collapse was one in an “alarming” series of similar incidents in the San Francisco area, a lawyer who has represented victims in other cases has said.

They came in groups, pairs, wearing county colours, leaving cards, candles, flowers, pictures, a half pint of beer, even a wheel hub.