Society was getting to a stage where life just didn't mean anything any more, said one neighbour of Michael Gallagher, the man who was stabbed to death in his kitchen on Thursday evening.
"It's just gone crazy," said the man, who did not wish to be named. "He was quiet enough. You'd see him around and he'd say 'hello'. I think he'd only been living there a short while, though himself and Sally had been together a good few years."
He described Mr Gallagher's partner, Sally Rogers, as a "lovely, lovely woman", who did lot of work for the community.
"She runs a community newsletter and works with the scouts. And she's always out looking after all the flowers and that around the estate. She has five kids, all grown up now." She had been living at the house on Tymonville Road since 1982, he said.
None of the neighbours around the quiet estate yesterday wanted to be named, though all expressed their shock at the events.
"This is a very good community," said a young man.
"As you can see, everyone has nice cars. Everyone has good jobs. People are just getting on with leading their lives, and Sally wouldn't interfere with nobody. You don't expect this kind of thing here, a great area."
The area around Ms Rogers's and Mr Gallagher's home was cordoned off yesterday morning and the front door covered with brown plastic sheeting.
Several onlookers joined a small group of journalists and photographers at one end of the area while a garda took house-to-house statements. One middle-aged man commented that gardaí had been searching gardens along the road "until about three in the morning".
"Looking for a weapon I suppose," he said. "It is frightening actually, isn't it?"
All said they had not heard any commotion on Thursday evening, with most adding they had not realised a man had died until they heard it on the news yesterday. "People don't seem to think that life is important any more," said an elderly woman. "It's as if we are losing touch with ourselves."
