DOZENS OF wreaths lined the entrance of the Cathedral of Christ the King as Caroline Cox came home to Mullingar to be buried.
"Our thoughts are with you, John and children," were the poignant words on one of the wreaths.
The mother of four was killed on Monday morning when her Mitsubishi 4x4 overturned as she made the morning run to Skerries Cross, where her two teenagers were to get the bus to secondary school in Oldcastle.
The incident took place at Collinstown, a tiny village in Co Westmeath, where the 32-year-old had made her home with her family. It occurred on her son Seán's 15th birthday.
Dozens of members of his GAA club Loch Lene Gaels showed support for the minor hurler by forming a guard of honour for the removal.
As a lone soprano sang Be Still my Soul, Ms Cox's husband, John, supported by two friends, followed the coffin through the crowds of hundreds of mourners to where his children waited, supported by family and friends.
Fr Michael Kilmartin, curate at Mullingar, offered a word of welcome to "the cathedral of heavy hearts" and said the Cox family were "deeply grieving, each injured by the tragedy that had struck them like a bolt out of a blue sky".
Their lives would be changed forever by the event.
"Words are inadequate, actions are inadequate," he said, as he enjoined mourners to find the strength and support to pray that Caroline was at peace, and thank God for the good life she had on Earth.
Mrs Cox's children, aged between seven months and 15 years, have been released from hospital where they had received treatment for a variety of injuries.
The burial will take place today at Ballyglass Cemetery, following funeral Mass at 12.30pm.