The parent of a child attending a Co Kerry school with a coronavirus outbreak says the last few days have been a "rollercoaster".
Students and staff at Scoil Mhuire in Killorglin are being tested for the virus, and have been asked to restrict their movements until December 30th.
17 cases have already been identified, and the school has now been closed temporarily.
Glen Evan's 12-year-old son Colm is in sixth class at the school, and has tested positive for the virus along with more than a dozen of his schoolmates.
Speaking on Lunchtime Live, Glen said they first heard about a case at the school on Friday night.
He said: "I think those few hours were probably the most difficult. We live with my mother, who's 87 years of age... that was tough. Where is this journey going to bring us?
"It's been a rollercoaster: booking tests, phone calls all day Sunday with the HSE, contact tracing, waiting for the tests, waiting for results... very hard on the kids and everybody involved."
He said everybody at the school was doing the right thing, but the outbreak shows how the virus can spread when it gets into a setting.
He explained: "We've all been tested, and we've had negative tests. Colm was positive, so we think he's at maybe day 10 or 11 [of infection].
"We'll go back to be tested now - there's no guarantee we haven't picked it up in the meantime.
"The HSE have been great - they've been in contact with text messages and phone calls, and they're doing their best to contain it.
"Christmas has dropped down the pecking order a small bit, but hopefully in another week things will improve. I'd like to wish my best to everybody in Killorglin, that we can get out of this."
Glen says his mother has tested negative, but it was "heartbreaking" to see his son worry over whether or not it would be his fault if the virus got into the home.
However, he said the children will definitely be going back to school as soon as it's safe to do so.
He said: "In my day, we used to joke about not going to school.
"But if you saw the look on their faces when they got to go back to school, you could see there's a lot more to school than what you learn in the books... it's so important to their development."
