Memorial service for Karen Buckley to take place in Glasgow

A memorial service to mark the anniversary of Karen Buckley, an Irish student who was murdered in Glasgow last year will take place on Tuesday.

Ms Buckley's friends and classmates will participate in the private service at Glasgow's Caledonian University, where she was undertaking a Masters in Occupational Therapy.

The qualified nurse (24) was on a night out with friends in Glasgow when she went missing.

An extensive search concluded after four days when Ms Buckley’s body was found in a farm outside Glasgow.

Ms Buckley from Mourneabbey in north Cork, was killed by Andrew Pacteau within 20 minutes of meeting him by chance outside the Sanctuary nightclub in Glasgow on April 12th last year.

Ms Buckley was seen on CCTV leaving the club with Pacteau, a courier firm director, and police later traced him to his apartment. Ms Buckley was repeatedly hit on the head with a heavy object. Pacteau then attempted to dispose of her body in a plastic barrel filled with caustic chemicals.

Pacteau was jailed for a minimum of 23 years for her murder.

Linda Sinclair of Scotland's Radio Clyde says Tuesday afternoon's service is a very private affair.

“The university don’t want to give out too many details. They want it to be a very private service for Karen’s classmates and for the staff. They want to pay their tributes and respect to Karen a year on,” she said.

Ms Buckley was a huge GAA fan and played as a teenager with Mourneabbey Ladies Football Club.

Following her death, two books of condolences were set up at the Cork County Council headquarters in Mallow and at the Hibernian Hotel in the town where she worked as a teenager.

A memorial service to Karen will also be held in Mourneabbey this Friday afternoon to give her loved ones and friends an opportunity to mark the anniversary.