Twenty years ago to the day, what started out as a journey home from school like any other, ended in tragedy.
A school bus carrying 51 pupils overturned while rounding a bend on the Navan to Kentstown Road in Co Meath.
Five young girls lost their lives. Many other secondary school students were seriously injured.
The local community and the country were plunged into mourning. Such was the outpouring of grief, the incident made headlines around the world.
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The events on the afternoon of that Monday, 23 May 2005 were never to be forgotten.
At the crash site, a memorial stands amongst five cherry trees, one for each of the young students who never made it home from school.
Their names are etched into the open book monument - Lisa Callan, 15, Clare McCluskey, 18, Aimee McCabe, 15, Deirdre Scanlon, 17 and Sinéad Ledwidge, 15.
The school bus was ferrying pupils home from four secondary schools in Navan.
Aimee, Clare, Deirdre and Lisa attended St Michael's Loreto while Sinéad was a pupil at Beaufort College in Navan.
St Patrick’s Classical School and St Joseph's Mercy Secondary School also had students on board that day.
The wider communities of Navan, including Beauparc, Yellow Furze, Kentstown and Rosnaree, where the pupils lived, were united in shock and grief.
Most in the area either had a family member on the bus that day or else knew someone who did.
In fact, many can vividly tell you exactly what they were doing two decades ago when they first heard the news about the crash.
Even 20 years on, what happened on that Monday afternoon still remains as raw for people as if that tragic event unfolded yesterday.
Today, the local community will come together once more.
This afternoon, a remembrance ceremony will be held at Loreto Secondary School, St Michael’s in Navan.
Parents, past teachers who would have taught Clare, Deirdre, Aimee and Lisa, and representatives from Beaufort College have been invited to attend.
A tree will be planted with school principal Sean Kelly saying that those who lost their lives that day must never be forgotten.
This evening, the local parish priest Fr David Brennan will say a memorial mass in the Church of the Assumption, Yellow Furze, Beauparc.
The annual mass, which is always well attended, offers another opportunity for the community to rally around the families who lost loved ones.
Those families have maintained a dignified silence over the last two decades but have made known that they wish to sincerely thank anyone who has offered them support.
That support, they say, has been a constant in their lives for the past 20 years right up until today.
Today is perhaps also a poignant opportunity to take a moment to reflect on road safety.
Bus Éireann, Meath County Council and Keltank Ltd, a garage which serviced the bus, all subsequently pleaded guilty to various charges in relation to the crash and were fined a combined total of €2.2 million.
Bus Éireann has said the crash remains one of the most difficult moments in the organisation’s history, and it continues to be felt most deeply by the affected families and the local community, and also by so many in Bus Éireann.
In a statement, CEO of Bus Éireann Stephen Kent said: "On this solemn anniversary, Bus Éireann honours the memory of Lisa Callan, Clare McCluskey, Aimee McCabe, Deirdre Scanlon, and Sinéad Ledwidge.
"Bus Éireann also acknowledges the lasting loss to their families and wider community, as well as the emergency services, teachers and students, and our own local team members who will always remember that tragic day," it added.
"The safety and wellbeing of every passenger, especially the children entrusted to our care, has always been, and will always remain our highest priority.
"Our commitment to safety is a value we hold most sincerely and remains our greatest priority, as a public transport company, when transporting the people of Ireland each and every day," it said.
The statement goes on to say: "The safety of our passengers and staff is of paramount importance to Bus Éireann, we continually review our safety management systems and procedures to ensure the highest levels of safety for our passengers, staff and members of the public."
Meanwhile, the Cathaoirleach of the Ashbourne Municipal District, in which the crash took place, Councillor Alan Tobin said: "On behalf of all councillors in the area, I would like to extend our support, prayers and condolences to the victims and in particular family that have endured 20 years of loss and heartache.
"Serious lessons were learned that day, from road safety through to vehicle testing. I sincerely hope that because of a greater emphasis on road safety since those tragic events, that no family ever has to go through such loss ever again," he added.
