Colm Delaney's son, David*, had a passion for football; he was a serious talent in a football-mad Leinster county. He always had a job of some kind and "a minimum of one girlfriend", says his father about his bright, witty boy. And though his teachers had him marked as one of those "enormous potential, must try harder" types, they fully expected him to fly through his Leaving Cert.
Then one May evening after picking up a friend, he stopped to give another man a lift home. Within minutes, through a combination of speed, unfamiliar roads and bad luck, he hit a wall, killing his friend in the front seat instantly and leaving himself with brain injuries. "For a while, he was so bad we thought he'd never be able to get out of bed and that he might need constant care", says his father.
Eight months in the "superb" NRH saw him make remarkable progress. He can manage life at home. Through endless repetition in therapy, he has been taught to look after himself in basic ways.
He looks normal but David will never sit his Leaving Cert. His short-term memory is so compromised that he may never live an independent life.
"The problem with the memory thing is that you don't know what day of the week it is or what kind of appointments you have. It might come to you eventually but it could be several days later or not at all," says his father.
In the meantime, David had to be taught to walk again. His difficulties with sight and balance mean that he cannot play football, "so all that lifestyle stuff is out the window".
His predicament is immeasurably worsened by the social isolation arising from his inability to concentrate; this means that his friends have difficulty relating to him. "So after a while of course, they tend to flee."
Yet Colm Delaney stresses repeatedly that they have been lucky. "David's recovery puts him in the top five per cent of brain injury survivors. I know of one young father who is a permanent patient in an old people's home down the country. Can you imagine what that must be like for him and his family? That's the reality for the bottom 10 - 20 per cent."
The one aspect of the tragedy that Colm Delaney and his son have not yet come to terms with is the death of David's friend.
"David has enormous difficulties with that. We've extended a hand to the boy's parents with some success but of course, they and his sister are still suffering terrible grief. That is by far the worst part."
*Names have been changed