Published: Wednesday, 1st September, 2010 11:48am

Thank you the Cavan people, from a lost kid

Happy family! Caolan Tanner, who got lost among the thousands at among the Sharon Shannon gig last week, gets smothered in kisses from his parents Fidelma and David, his brothers Oisin and Tiernan... and family dog Slainte.

Just before the Sharon Shannon concert on the Sunday night, at the egg market in Cavan, our 10-year-old son got lost in the swollen crowd. One minute he was two steps ahead, the next disappearing so that I could see his head only through the throngs of people. Despite going in the same direction, I could not see him or even get to move in the same direction.

As I moved backwards through the crowd I met a friend who took the other children so my husband and I could both try and find him. Still no sign. The sound guys kindly let me stand on the back stage to see if I could see him, but still no sign. I told them what had happened, and despite awaiting the results of the busking competition, they communicated with Martin Donohoe on the main stage, who immediately asked the crowd to look around them for him.

An eerie hush fell upon the thousands deep crowd. People immediately started to look around them for a 10-year-old boy, Caolán, in a grey jacket. Still no sign.

Each day at the fleadh, we pre-arranged a meeting point as a family, just in case we got split up. On Sunday it was to be the hands by the post office. We could not believe he could possibly have got near there - the crowds were so dense, both on the street and in the Egg Market itself. We knew he was a bright boy, and nothing untoward would have happened to him, he would not go off with strangers and nobody had gone to the fleadh with a view to stealing a potential stray child! But still the nerves were getting ragged - being lost in such a swarm would be no fun for anyone! Neighbours and friends who knew us, went looking too, but still no sign.

After what seemed like hours, but was really minutes of looking, my husband decided to go the original meeting point. It took him some 10 minutes to get there, having to go the back way up College Street, because the crowds were so dense on Main Street. I remained on the back stage, with hordes of people looking on anxiously, feeling a mixture of humiliation and embarrassment, and yet practicality. I had to stay put.

Ten minutes later I got a call from my husband to say he had received a phonecall from Caolan to say he was safe and well. He had managed to get to a phonebox near the post office and rang his Daddy to tell him where he was. Martin announced his safe discovery, and the sincere cheer of relief and support from the audience was incredibly heart warming.

Caolan was acutely embarrassed and annoyed that more than half of Cavan and beyond knew he was missing. He didn't want to come back in. But he did; to many, many caring strangers' hands on his head, saying how relieved they were, and how they felt so much for us as parents and understood how we must have felt, and stories of how the same thing had happened to them - without microphones or mobile phones - and all I could do was cry and cry and hug him and hold on to him and be so, so grateful to everyone for all their help and understanding.

The sound guys came down with some chocolate for him, other people around gave him sweets and bars - not that he in any way needed them - it was a gesture of kindness and generosity that would make anyone proud to be from Cavan!

When we had both emotionally settled down, he looked up at me and said 'you see Mummy, this is why I need a mobile phone!'.

Even as we left the concert, complete strangers recognised us on the street, and said how relieved they were. Not exactly the claim to fame one would want, but the honesty and humanity of the people, the care to give a damn and act upon it, the humility of parenthood and the joy and elation of the music combined, made Cavan town that Sunday night a very wonderful place. Thank you to so many. - Fidelma Tinneny and David Tanner.