Editorial: Aisling's death a loss for all of us

Throughout the week that little Aisling Symes was missing, the country felt as small as a village. We shared the anguish of her parents and wider family, the parents among us knowing how fragile the web of good fortune is that protects us from similar catastrophe.

The inquiry head, Inspector Gary Davey, was plainly struggling with his emotions when he announced that the 2-year-old's body had been found. His natural human reaction must have been to wonder "what if" she had been located earlier.

Such speculation is fruitless at the best of times, but doubly so here. Davey later said he was confident that Aisling was beyond saving before the search even began.

His remark was plainly intended to offer some comfort to the bereaved family - and those of us grieving with them - that the agonising length of the search had not cost a life that might otherwise have been saved.

But it should comfort the search team as well - in particular the officer who inspected on day one the drain where Aisling was eventually found. Anyone inclined to accuse the searchers of carelessness might like to consider how easy it is to look 36m down a pipe barely 36cm wide.

Plainly if Aisling had been found earlier, the outcome would have been the same. No one, least of all the parents, is to blame. It was a tragic accident, pure and terribly simple - and our hearts go out to those who must carry on living in its shadow.