The Galway taxi-driver murdered in her car last Sunday night was described as a vibrant, hard-working lady who never did harm to anyone during Requiem Mass at Corofin parish church, Co Galway, yesterday.
More than 100 taxi-drivers from Galway formed a guard of honour in tribute to Ms Eileen Costello O'Shaughnessy as hundreds of mourners attended her funeral in the quiet rural church, which is 15 miles from the city.
In his homily, the parish priest, Father Paddy Williams, said the killing of the 47-year-old working mother had numbed the entire community.
"I can remember a time in Ireland when murders were a rare occurrence," he said. "When a rare one did happen we would talk about it for years. Nowadays, there seems to be a murder every other day. Such is the state of our society.
"But it is only when it hits your own community that the full horror of murder hits home to you, especially when it is a familiar, loved and loving person that is the victim of brutal, savage, lethal violence.
"Nothing else has been talked about in the parish over the past week. The mood in Corofin has been sombre, indeed attitudes have varied between grief, revulsion, fear, and anger."
Father Williams prayed for a successful outcome to the Garda investigation into the "heinous crime", that the perpetrator would be brought to justice, but most of all, that her family and community would come to terms with her tragic death.
He said that Ms Costello O'Shaughnessy had shown courage and spirit throughout her life. She lived for her family, her religion, her taxi-driving and a game of cards.
Father Williams sympathised with her husband, Tommy, children Susan and Damien, her mother, Nora, and brothers, P.J. and Martin, as well as her extended family and friends.
"She was most conscientious in her work, she loved it," he said. "We offer our sympathy, too, to her fellow taxi-drivers. They appreciated her very much as a colleague."
Virtually every taxi and hackney driver in the city had black ribbons on their car aerials this week as a mark of respect for Ms Costello O'Shaughnessy, and most cab firms closed down yesterday for the funeral. Following the Requiem Mass, she was laid to rest in the nearby Kilmoylan cemetery.