The father of Robert Holohan said today he was stunned that their next-door neighbour had been arrested for the killing of his son.
Mark Holohan said he had honestly hoped his son would turn up alive after he went missing from his home in Midleton in Cork.
Wayne O'Donoghue (21), from Ballyedmond, Midleton, Cork is charged with murdering his 11-year-old neighbour Robert Holohan at his home on January 4th.
At the Central Criminal Court today, Mark Holohan said he had been stunned when a Garda Superintendent visited him at his home with the news of the arrest.
"I asked him who it was, he said 'Wayne O'Donoghue'. I couldn't believe it." O'Donoghue, who lived next door to the family in Ballyedmond, Midleton, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of Robert but guilty to his manslaughter.
Mr Holohan said Robert was an energetic child who loved sport and the pony his family had bought for him.
Earlier the court heard how Mr O'Donoghue called to the boy's family house three times to offer his assistance during the search for him.
The boy's mother Majella Holohan said Mr O'Donoghue had called to their house three times after her son disappeared while out playing on his BMX bike.
"I offered him tea. He said: 'Don't worry, we'll find him'", she said.
Ms Holohan said that O'Donoghue had offered to ring Robert's mobile phone to see if he would answer. "He rang his mobile and put it up to his ear. He said there's no answer, he tried to ring two or three times. He was next to me."
Senior counsel Shane Murphy, representing the prosecution, asked her if O'Donoghue had seemed anxious or nervous.
"Normal," she replied.
The body of Robert Holohan was found dumped near an isolated beach eight days after he disappeared. Ms Holohan, who was giving evidence at the trial for the first time, became very emotional when describing her encounters with Mr O'Donoghue.
She told the jury of seven women and five men how she had thanked Mr O'Donoghue and told him he was doing too much. The family had even planned to have Mr O'Donoghue say one of the prayers of the faithful at the boy's funeral but changed their mind when the Cork hurler Sean Og O'hAlpin offered to take part.
"I got him to do one instead of Wayne," said Ms Holohan. The murder trial has heard that Mr O'Donoghue, who has pleaded not guilty to murder but guilty to manslaughter, confessed to gardai the following day.
Ms Holohan told the court of the close relationship between her son and Mr O'Donohoe, whose family house next door was just 60 feet away.
"Robert adored Wayne. He looked up to him as if he was an older brother. We never had any problems with the O'Donoghue family."
There was silence in court as she recounted Robert's early life: his love of sport, horses and the outdoors. She said she had brought him to Professor Michael Fitzgerald at Trinity College Dublin, who diagnosed him with a mild form of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD).
"It was just his concentration at school. He was also dyslexic and we had a grind (for him) once a week," she said.
The court heard that Robert often day-dreamed in school and took one Ritalin tablet for each school day to improve his concentration.
"A lot of children are on it at the moment, because it's proved to be very successful. They're getting fantastic results in their Leaving Certificate and everything like that," said Mrs Holohan.
Mrs Holohan described the last time she saw Robert, at around 2.30pm on January 4th. She was at home with her other two young children, Emma and Harry, when Robert cycled out of the driveway in his Midleton GAA tracksuit bottoms and his black Nike jacket and turned right.
Ms Holohan said she started ringing him on his mobile phone, which he had got less than a week earlier, but there was no answer. She tried three more times but only got through to Robert's message minder. "I said, 'Robert, come on, give me a buzz.' I rang him five or six times before I started panicking."
It was now around 5.20pm and she knew Robert hated the dark. Her husband Mark had returned home and began searching the area. She rang Robert's friends, her mother and father and also drove into Midleton town two miles away to look for him.
Senior counsel Shane Murphy said that all of these searches proved to be in vain. "That's right," said Mrs Holohan. She said she was astonished when the Gardai later told her that O'Donoghue had confessed to killing Robert.
The court heard that O'Donoghue had been in and out of the Holohan home all the time and that Robert would visit his house once a week. The two would play soccer together in the back garden, where Mr O'Donoghue had built a treehouse for Robert.
He used to bring Robert and a 13-year-old girl (who was best friends with Robert) to Midleton in his Fiat Punto Car around once a fortnight.
"The two young ones loved when he brought them down for a DVD. I think Wayne treated them to McFlurries, an ice-cream in McDonalds, and he bought them DVDs. That was it really," she said.
Mr O'Carroll asked Ms Holohan if her son had a special relationship with O'Donoghue.
"I suppose so," she said.
But she did agree with his contention that Mr O'Donoghue was part of the family.
"I wouldn't say that close because we are a private family anyhow. But like any neighbours, we'd be talking about the daily goings on and things like that."