Three Galway taxi firms came together yesterday to raise a £5,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of the killer of their colleague, Ms Eileen Costello O'Shaughnessy, whose funeral takes place today.
As hundreds of mourners gathered for the removal of the remains of the 47-year old mother of two, the firms came together out of concern that the murderer was still at large.
"It's been a very difficult week for us, particularly for our four other lady drivers or the seven or eight lady drivers in the city," said the chairman of Galway Taxis, Mr Ciaran Donoghue, with whom she worked at the time of her death.
Almost all taxi-drivers in the city, and many of the hackney operators, placed black ribbons on their car aerials as a mark of respect.
"There's an urgency involved in catching this killer, as he or they must be a danger to the public. It is four days now since it happened and we are all still numb," said Mr Donoghue.
Gardai have appealed to a female caller who contacted Mill Street station on Wednesday night to get in touch with them again. So far over 1,000 people have been interviewed by gardai in connection with the brutal killing, which they have now narrowed down to between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Sunday night.
The senior Garda officer in charge of the case, Supt Tony Finnerty, last night expressed confidence that the perpetrator would eventually be brought to justice. Yesterday, local Senator Margaret Cox (FF) raised her concern about the attack in the Seanad, when she pressed the Minister for the Environment to instigate a review of safety measures for taxidrivers throughout the country. "This appalling crime highlights two serious issues - violence against women, and violence against taxi-drivers in this country," she said.
Meanwhile, hundreds of mourners attended the removal of the murdered woman's body from Burns' Funeral Parlour in Tuam to St Colman 's Church, Corofin, last night.
Among the chief mourners were her adult children Damien, who works in Digital, and Susan, who is based in London and had to return from holidays in Australia after hearing of the tragic news.
She is also survived by her estranged husband Tom, a garda based at Mill Street.