The family of the woman killed yesterday when a stolen bus careered through parts of Dublin have appealed for privacy during their time of grief.
Máire Buckley (62) who was originally from Newcastle West, Co Limerick, had been living in Donnycarney in north Dublin for many years.
Ms Buckley, who was one of a family of seven, retired as a teacher last year.
She spent most of her career teaching in Dublin inner city schools at Rutland Street and Marlborough Street. She was particularly committed to special-needs teaching and taught a special-needs class for many years before taking on the role of home-school liaison teacher for a cluster of inner city schools.
In a statement, Ms Buckley's family said she was "a highly regarded and popular figure in the whole area of special education and is close to the hearts of many people in inner city areas".
The statement described her as a "fun-loving and vibrant person who loved life, and she will be deeply missed by all who knew her". She is survived by her daughter Angela, who was in the car when it was hit by the bus on the Naas Road yesterday afternoon.
Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin today offered her sincere sympathies to the family, colleagues and friends of Ms Buckley.
"Máire was a dedicated teacher and committed all her energies to helping those around her in the schools where she taught," she said. "I know that there have been many tributes from those who worked with her and knew of her dedication to education, especially in the area of special education.
Minister for Justice Michael McDowell said the thoughts of everybody were with the family and how tragic and cruel a death Ms Buckley met. He also paid tribute to gardai who confronted a difficult situation and he wished a speedy recovery to those traumatised or injured by the incident.
"They displayed immense courage," he said. "They underwent what for most of us would be horrific experiences in trying to deal with the situation. I want to compliment all of them on what they did."
Finian McGrath, Independent TD for Dublin north central, worked with Ms Buckley for years. "Máire was a very, very dedicated teacher," he said. "As well as being a fantastic professional teacher Máire also had an interest in children at risk and children with disabilities and children with special needs.
"So the whole of the north inner city parents, teachers, all professional care staff, are absolutely distraught by the death of this beautiful, kind and caring woman."
The TD, who spent 20 years teaching in the inner city, said he was absolutely devastated by her death. "Even when I left teaching and got elected to the Dáil, Máire was always on my case in relation to funding to assist the poor sections of society and not to forget my previous day job working with disadvantaged children," he told RTE Radio.