‘A young boy is missing and that has struck terror into the hearts of all who have children’

“WE love him very, very much — all we want is Robert back safe at home. That’s the only thought we’re holding on to now.”

These are the heartbreaking words of Mark Holohan,

father of 11-year-old Robert, who vanished without trace a week ago today.

All Mark and his wife, Majella, can do is pray their son is safe and that he will be returned to them unharmed. On Sunday, a special service was held in the Holy Rosary Church in Midleton.

"Do not give up hope," Canon Bertie Troy told churchgoers. But, as the days go on, that hope is vanishing.

The disappearance of Robert Holohan has all the hallmarks of a horror novel. All that remains of a happy, cheerful boy who loved the outdoors is a bicycle in a ditch.

The signs are ominous that he has been kidnapped for nefarious purposes. There is little else to explain why he has vanished without trace, leaving his precious Christmas present by the roadside.

"Unfortunately, as time goes on we are dealing with a criminal investigation rather than a search mission," said a senior garda.

That is the worst possible news for Robert's parents and loved ones.

Robert has Attention Deficit Disorder, a condition which experts say may have made him trusting of strangers.

Even as a parent of young children, I can hardly imagine the horror of Robert's disappearance, let alone his possible abduction.

As a parent, you try your best to love and cherish your children and keep them out of harm's way.

As a parent, you teach them how to act responsibly, show them safe ways to have fun, how to cross the road carefully, ride a bike, watch out for traffic all to keep them from getting hurt.

But, as a parent, you know it is not always possible to watch their every move.

As a parent, you know there comes a time when your child has to be given certain freedoms like cycling his BMX bike down the road or meeting up with friends nearby.

As a parent, you may teach your child to be wary of strangers but you would never wish him to be unreasonably fearful or anxious. After all, childhood is supposed to be happy and innocent, not full of angst and stress.

As a parent, you must, for sanity's sake, put the fear of your child being abducted out of your mind most of the time. Otherwise, the thought could literally drive you mad and, if such paranoia sets in, that in itself can be dangerous and self-destructive.

We live in a time of escalating insecurity. In our role as parents, teachers or care-givers, we watch as our children are shaken by the inescapable barrage of bad news involving death, bombs and natural disasters.

We have just witnessed on our TV screens the awesome destruction of the Asian tsunami. Our children are naturally frightened and confused as they ask questions such as: "Am I safe?" or "Will the waves come here?"

It is the same with the conflict in Iraq.

"Why do people kill each other?" "Will we be bombed?"

Yet it never occurs to them to ask, "will I be kidnapped?" Their sense of danger does not stretch that far and perhaps it is just as well that childhood is not blighted by such imaginings.

But the reality this past week is that a young boy is missing and that has struck terror into the hearts of all who care for children.

I suspect many of those who travelled the length of the country to help in the search for Robert were either parents themselves or were close to children within their family.

The Holohans have been deeply moved by such gestures, but that does not disguise the fact that there is still an empty chair at their table.

As a parent, it is impossible not to feel overwhelming compassion for the Holohan family.

Yet, as parents, it is equally impossible not to breathe a sigh of relief that such horror has not descended on our own doorstep.

As the parents of Robert Holohan pray for his safe return, all we can do is pray with them.