Amid the grief, sorrow and tears, there were smiles. Mourners at Claire McCluskey's funeral Mass remembered her infectious sense of fun and happiness which lit up the lives of people around her.
The congregation, packed into the tiny Church of the Nativity, broke into warm laughter as her former national school principal, Tom Hutchins, told of her unshakable ambition to become a teacher.
There were the times when she would take over the class with panache, giving the teachers a thing or two to learn about the art of teaching.
Her father said if there was a happiness scale of one to 10, she was right up at 10, with her infectious smile.
The memories were a welcome but brief respite from grief which has gripped the community for the last five days.
Yesterday was the most difficult day for the small parish of Rosnaree, faced with the funerals of two schoolgirls, Claire (18) and Lisa Callan (15), which took place in the space of a few hours.
Hundreds of people crowded outside the pre-Famine church in Rosnaree yesterday morning, stretching down the narrow roadway leading to Knock- common Cemetery, waiting for Claire.
Pupils from all four schools in Navan - Loreto Convent, Mercy Convent, St Patrick's College and Beaufort College - lined the route. Schoolgirls wept, hugged and held hands as the family arrived at the church, hugging Claire's sister Anita, who escaped with minor injuries from the bus crash last Monday.
Claire's mother Marie, crippled by grief, was assisted to make the short walk from the cortege to the church.
Members of the emergency services, who were at the scene of Monday's bus crash, along with members of the Red Cross and the local GAA club, also gathered at the rural churchyard.
Ministers Martin Cullen and Noel Dempsey, who is also a TD for Meath, were in attendance, along with the President's aide- de-camp, Capt Lorraine Fahey, and the Taoiseach's aide-de- camp, Comdt Michael Delaney.
Claire's funeral was filled with personal touches, with some of Claire's favourite songs, such as the plaintive strains of Hallelujah by Jeff Buckley, sung by friends and relatives.
Parish priest Fr John Brogan told the congregation that members of the community could draw strength from each other in the days ahead.
"This is a time of great sadness and brokenness. The community is shattered by the events of last Monday . . . We have one another which will keep us together as a community in the faith of God," Fr Brogan said.
Claire's father also paid tribute to the heroism of the people who helped to rescue those on the bus, including the bus driver, John Hubble.
Christy McCluskey said his heart went out to the driver who had broken through the front windscreen and helped students escape from the wreckage.
And then there was the heroism of 15-year-old Philip Sheridan, a student on the bus, who had also helped his daughter escape through the back window.
In the afternoon, hundreds gathered again outside the church for Lisa Callan's funeral.
She was a Junior Cert student at Loreto Convent.
She was brought into the church, followed by her father Vincent, mother Patricia and her 12-year-old brother, Andrew, who celebrated his Confirmation a few weeks ago.
It was too much for many of her classmates gathered outside, who collapsed into each others arms, their muffled sobs drifting across the countryside.
Inside, Fr Brogan remembered her as a creative and artistic girl who had time for everyone and brought a great sense of humour to every occasion.
"The tragic death of Lisa has shocked us all, but we are not without hope. Lisa may be gone, but we remember her in our minds and in our hearts," he said.
"Our community is traumatised. We could not believe that five girls who left for school in the morning would never come home. Together, we remember the five of them today."
Capt Fahey and Comdt Delaney, for the President and the Taoiseach, also attended Lisa's funeral.