Court sketch: There were no gasps or cries of protest as Judge Michael White committed Dermot Laide and Seán Mackey to Mountjoy.
The Murphy family remained impassive. Mary Murphy - who had earlier made to leave in protest at Anthony Sammon's defence of his comments about the disposition of her son on the night of his death - closed her eyes as though in meditation. A female friend of their dead son smiled broadly.
Seated a row in front of them, with remarkable dignity and composure, Honora Laide suppressed her own grief to lean across and gently stroke the fair hair of her weeping daughter while enfolding the hand of Dermot's distressed girlfriend, Cecilia. The two girls had held hands throughout the reading of the judgment.
Close by, as two prison officers took up position close to his son and Seán Mackey, Brian Laide folded and unfolded his tie, rubbed his eyes, grimacing convulsively, as though compelling his brain to absorb what was happening.
During a short recess, he stood up, straining to see his son who was by now separated from him by a small throng of lawyers, friends and relatives. Beside him, Dermot's girlfriend, Cecilia, was struggling to make her way across to Dermot who was talking to his lawyer. Sensing her presence, he turned to her, put his arms around her and kissed her gently on the lips, before glancing across at the prison officer, silently questioning whether it was time to go. The officer courteously turned away, signalling that there was leeway.
Beside them, Michael Mackey embraced his son, Seán, holding him close for long moments, while Seán girlfriend wept quietly, looking lost. In the gallery, several young girls were in tears; many old friends from Blackrock college looked shell-shocked.
The court resumed to hear counsel for Laide outline the reasons he was seeking leave to appeal. When this was denied, he gave notice of his intention to seek leave from the Court of Criminal Appeal. Counsel for Mackey indicated that he would be appealing severity of sentence. And then it was over.
As the court emptied, and at least one clearly shaken lawyer had a final word with his client, close friends and relatives lingered for a final hug and soothing words.
As Desmond Ryan - his nine-month sentence deferred until May 31st to allow him to finish his degree - left by the public exit wearing the ghost of a smile, Dermot Laide and Seán Mackey were led through a door down to the cells, accompanied by Brian Laide and Fr Aidan Troy, and Seán Mackey's parents. Honora Laide remained in court, soothing a distraught young friend of Dermot's.
A distressed mother, connected to a number of people in this trial, agreed that perhaps the outcome was predictable, but added through tears : "You're never prepared" Outside, Denis Murphy sought, again, to remind the media that "our son Brian was savagely kicked and beaten to death and will not be coming back to us. With the sentences handed down today, those convicted in connection with Brian's death will be back with their families in a relatively short period of time."
But there was little sense of imminent release in the nearby pub where some 30 members of the extended Laide family and friends were gathering in an atmosphere characterised by one observer as "like a wake". Outside, Honora Laide stood at her husband's shoulder, as he delivered his handwritten statement to the media in a quivering but utterly determined voice, asking as the Murphys did last week, for the truth - "and the truth must win out in the end".
As their sons begin their sentences, only those close to these families can know what they have endured in the past few years. Media harassment in the early hours and hate mail are just a taster. And there is still no end in sight.