Mum's words to her tragic only son: 'If love could have saved him, he would have lived forever'

These were the heartfelt words of the mother of 15-year-old Dayne Cody at his funeral in Ballyfermot, Dublin, earlier this morning.

Dayne lost his life last Saturday night when the car he was a passenger in crashed into a tree in Clondalkin.

At his funeral at St Matthew’s Church, his mother Paula told hundreds of mourners that he was “a mammy’s boy and his Daddy’s best friend”.

The devastated mother-of-five said: “Dayne was our first born. A very special boy was given to us in Dayne. He loved us and wouldn’t want us to go through this pain. He looked after his four little sisters and would do anything to protect them.

“Dayne was so funny. An awful messer, he would wind us all up in the house slagging us all. We wouldn’t have wanted anymore from him.”

Gifts were offered by Dayne’s little sisters Abbey and Daisey, including a motorcycle helmet in recognition of their brother’s greatest love and a wooden jewellery box he had once crafted for his mother.

Dozens of Dayne’s classmates from Kylemore College wore muted black suits, but their ties were lovingly adorned with pictures of motorcycles.

There were collective tears of sorrow and joy as a slide show revealed glimpses from Dayne’s short life, while some of his favourite songs ‘Say Something’ by A Great Big World and ‘Man in the Mirror’ by Michael Jackson filled every corner of the packed church.

While recognising what he described as an “irreplaceable loss”, Fr Joe McDonald said “we have so much even in his short life to be thankful for”.

He said: “I’m conscious of his little sisters that he loved so much and who were so good to him; Abbey and Daisey and Poppy and Pixie-Rae. This is a difficult day as well for the grandparents; they do not expect, nor should they expect such a day.

“It struck me how much was packed into Dayne’s 15 years. I think there were about 100 girls all claiming to be his last girlfriend.

“I know you won’t forget him. Hold him close to your heart like a talisman, and do laugh and cry and remember. Because as well as the joking and the slagging, there was a heart of gold and an awful lot of goodness in Dayne.”

Afterwards, members of Dayne’s family and his closest friends carried his casket from the church to the awaiting horse-drawn carriage outside.

Four of Dayne’s friends, aged between 14 and 16, also suffered serious injuries in the smash, with one boy losing half of his foot, after the boys made a “spur of the moment” decision to go for a drive in a 2002 Kia Magentis.