We saw the clergy and gardaí at their professional best in Midleton

THE last fortnight has been grim and harrowing for the town of Midleton and for those of us throughout the country who have watched events there from afar through the media.

We were all transfixed by the fact that a young boy had gone missing. We all shared the sense of shock when his remains were found and everyone was touched by the moving funeral last Saturday. This week the town was the scene for the detention and charging of a young student with manslaughter.

Amid all the tragedy of Robert Holohan’s death and the related events, two groups of people played a prominent role. The gardaí were inevitably to the forefront in dealing with this tragedy. From the initial organisation of the search for Robert, the garda approach to the investigation has been one of professionalism, thoroughness and humanity.