The grieving mother of an Irish boy killed in a Turkish crash says he loved life.

I just hope that when it happened - I don't know how it happened - he was smiling. (Left to right) Dylan, Eoin and Sian Fitzpatrick. (Image: provided)

The distraught mother of an Irish boy who died with his father in a horrific accident while on vacation held back tears to admire him.

"He was the kindest, kindest man," Claire Dowling told the Irish Mirror - traveling to Turkey after the deaths of her son Dylan (10) and his father Eoin Fitzpatrick in a road accident in a tourist resort on Monday.

Miss Dowling spoke exclusively to us as she headed to Turkey to comfort her surviving son Sian (14), who was vacationing with his father and brother when tragedy struck in the Alanya resort on Monday afternoon.

Dylan and Mr. Fitzpatrick (36) were killed when they were struck by a bus while riding a moped at about 3:30 a.m. Monday - hours before the family was due to finish their vacation and return home to Portlaoise in County Laois on Tuesday morning.

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Sian, a talented GAA player, was with Mr. Fitzpatrick's partner and her children and did not witness the horrific crash which later resulted in the bus driver being arrested.

Miss Dowling, who like Mr. Fitzpatrick lives on the Clonrock Abbey estate in Portlaoise, rushed to Dublin Airport on Tuesday to travel to Turkey after being informed of the death of c"I didn't even make it to Turkey to see my boy or his father. No one has said anything to me," she said.

But she added: "I'm just happy they're together. My little boy. "I just hope that when it happened - I don't know how it happened - he was smiling.

"He loves me and he loves his daddy and I'm so happy they're together somewhere.

And Ms. Dowling burst into tears as she told how loving her young son Dylan was.

She said: "He was the kindest, kindest man, but he could also split you in two halves.

"He was such a character, and whoever met him would testify to the same.

"He's 10 years old and he still holds my hand and tells me he loves me wherever we are. He's so, so kind.

"He loves to draw, he loves to swim and he loves golf - he loves all the things that normal kids don't like at 10 years old. He wasn't like everyone else.

"I was walking out of my bedroom door in a dress and I might not look good and my teenage son didn't say anything, but my smaller boy said: 'mommy, you look beautiful'.

"He loved life".

Miss Dowling said she and Aine were separated but united by their love for Keanu and Dylan - and every year they vacationed with their children separately.

She said: "They travel with me and then they travel separately with their dad every year. We don't live together, but we are very, very united.

"They were with me in Lanzarote in May, just the two of them. They had a great time. They really enjoyed the water park.

"They have been traveling a lot; this year they have been to America, Lanzarote and Turkey.

She revealed that Eoin was due to return to Ireland with the children on Tuesday - just hours before the tragedy occurred.

She said: "My heart breaks that he was due to land today and I know he really wanted to come home.

"He loved being home. He doesn't have many friends. He loves to be home, he loves to be home with me. He loves the simple things in life.

"He never asks for much and doesn't care about much. "

She also spoke about her last conversation with the boys in which they talked about looking forward to coming home.

She said: "(Dylan) was in a great mood. I asked him, both of them, 'so what are you looking forward to coming home to?'

'I asked them what they missed back home and they both said WI-FI, X-Box and Chinese takeaway and of course me'.

Other family members who spoke to The Mirror in Portlaoise said they feared it could be a week to 10 days before Dylan and Eoin's bodies are returned to Ireland.

They also stressed that Ms. Dowling and Mr. Fitzpatrick were devoted to their children and united in caring for them, despite no longer being in a relationship.

Media in Turkey reports that a father and son were tragically killed under the wheels of a bus near a crosswalk on Monday afternoon.

Medics and police rushed to the scene, but the father and son were pronounced dead.

The bus driver, a Turkish national aged 28, was arrested.

Turkish police have confirmed that the two dead men are both Irish and were vacationing in the area when the crash occurred.

The Foreign Ministry said it was providing consular assistance in the case.

A spokesman said: 'The Foreign Office is aware of the case and is providing consular assistance.

"As with all consular cases, the Ministry does not comment on the details of any particular case. "

Brian Stanley, Shin Fane MP for the Laissez-Offaly constituency, lis