IT WAS the shortest of journeys, but it didn't make it any easier.
School friends in their uniforms and team mates wearing club jerseys yesterday carried 14-year-old Conor Hickey's remains from his home on St Attracta Road in Cabra to Christ the King Church just around the corner.
As they walked they passed within a few yards of the crossroads where he was fatally injured by a hit-and-run vehicle last Friday; it is still festooned with dozens of fresh flowers, handwritten notes and small mementoes.
Last weekend's tragedy has shaken the community of Cabra to the core and traumatised the youngsters who knew him, went to school with him or played hurling with him.
The colourful posters, cartoons and drawings placed at the entrance to the church are testament to that.
There are images of good times they shared with him - skateboarding, swimming, playing hurling - alongside heartfelt expressions of loss, grief and incomprehension in fluorescent marker and Biro.
"Gonna ask my grandmother to take care of you, skittles," says one. "Feels like I've lost a brother, can't describe how much I miss you. Part of heart is empty now."
And another. "Won't have anyone now to hug every morning, no little buddie to wreck me head or throw food at me! My best friend in schools - will never be the same without you."
It was a theme Fr Pat Carroll picked up on during the funeral Mass. The stories he heard about Conor over the previous days painted the picture of a youngster full of boyish charm. "There have been a lot of tears, a lot of grief, but still cherished memories," he said.
"Conor's principal, Máistir Ó Murchú, told me that Conor was the one who lifted up the school with his radiant smile, the glint in his eye: lovable, kind, always willing to help."
Fr Carroll recalled that on the afternoon before Conor died, the boy had stayed behind at school to help the chaplain before heading to Cabra library to do his homework. Small, but significant acts.
His school friends offered up gifts at the funeral service to remember him by: a hurling stick and jersey from his local club; a school-shirt signed by his classmates; boxing gloves; a skateboard and a tin of spray paint - the latter receiving a gentle murmur of laughter from his school friends.
Conor's father, John, and his mother, Margaret, were too grief-stricken to speak. The trainer of their son's GAA team, Patrick Whelan, spoke on their behalf. He said God had given the family a perfect son and a brother over the previous 14 years.
"The past events of this week have changed all that," Mr Whelan said. "Our lives have been completely devastated by the loss of Conor and all our hopes and dreams have been shattered."
Many of Conor's school friends have struggled to express their feelings over the past few days. Writing notes and tributes has been part of that.
Some also wrote a song, which was played just before his coffin left the church.
It was a moment that was too much for some of his friends. A group of three girls gripped each other for support.
Boys put their arms around each other. There was an echo of quiet sobbing as the music faded.
The tragedy has jolted the community - but it has also demonstrated the community spirit that exists in Cabra.
"The school is in shock and has been since we heard the news. The atmosphere has been very sombre but calm," said Tomás Ó Murchú, principal of Coláiste Mhuire, afterwards.
"We've had great support from staff and former staff, parents who've been organising tea and sandwiches, the board of management, trustees, our neighbouring schools St Declan's College and Gaelscoil Bharra, and clergy in both churches.
"There is a strong sense of community spirit here - in the school and the community. Now is a chance to grieve and celebrate his life."