There’s more than a little irony amid word that SEPTA’s police force could go on strike this afternoon.

About the time talks between the transit officers’ union and the company were breaking down yesterday, five young men were heading into a courtoom to face charges in connection with the death of Sean Patrick Conroy. They’re charged with his murder.

Conroy had the misfortune of being on a SEPTA subway platform when this group of young toughs decided to act out a dare, according to testimony at their preliminary hearing Wednesday.

Basically, it sounded like a bunch of guys talking tough. Then came a challenge to actually act tough. That talk turned deadly for Conroy, who attended Upper Darby High for awhile and whose mother still lives in Lansdowne.

The group set upon Conroy. The confrontation itself was not fatal, but the asthma attack it sparked was.

The group of young hoodlums – who likely should have been in school at the time of the attack – told police they abandoned Conroy when they saw a SEPTA police officer patrolling in a car. He was able to chase down and arrest one of them.

In the aftermath of the attack, and a string of similar incidents, fears about the safety of riders using the SEPTA system have steadily increased.

This at the same time more and more people are looking to get out of their cars to escape skyrocketing gas prices.

Mayor Michael Nutter and SEPTA officials say they have a contingency plan in place should the transit police walk off the job this afternoon. City police and some SEPTA managers will try to hold down the fort.

That likely won’t make riders feel any safer. Don’t believe it? Ask the family of Sean Conroy.