The parents of a murdered Limerick man, Mr Eric Leamy, last night spoke of their grief, saying: "Life is nothing without him".
Mr Leamy's mother, Geraldine, said she and her husband, Anthony, go to the Mount St Oliver Cemetery every day for hours to visit their son's grave.
"We feel closer to our son there," she said. "Even now, two years on, we find it very difficult to even go into his room. It is still laid out the same way it was on that night [when he died]. Little did we know it would be the last time we would see Eric alive.
"Our sitting room is a shrine to our son. We have pictures of him from a baby up to his confirmation and of him with his soccer teams. We love him so much we can't let him go. I miss my son so very much. My son was no druggie or drunk. He was a very good and kind loving son. He loved his family."
Mr Leamy (18) was murdered on August 28th, 2001, at Lee Estate, Island Road, Limerick.
Liam Keane, a 19-year-old Limerick man who was charged with Mr Leamy's murder, walked free from court on Monday after six prosecution witnesses changed their evidence or denied making statements to gardaí. The Leamys preferred not to speak about the case, which they attended in Dublin.
Mr Anthony Leamy said he and his wife have stayed at their son's grave for two or three hours every day since he was killed 26 months ago, spending around €100 per week on taxi fares visiting the cemetery four miles from their home at St Mary's Park.
"Even in the winter we stay there. The cab-drivers are often wondering what we are doing up there so late in the dark," he said.
On the night his son was attacked the family took a phone call from the Garda informing them Eric had been attacked. "We were told it was not life-threatening, and there was no need to go to the hospital."
However, after arriving at the hospital Eric was rushed into surgery and died. He is buried in a grave alongside his younger brother, Jason, who died from a heart defect aged nine months in 1985.
The Garda helicopter was deployed in Limerick last night. It is understood that the move followed discussions earlier this week between the Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, Department of Justice officials and senior Garda officers in the city.