THOUSANDS ATTENDED the removal in Castlebar, Co Mayo, last night of the remains of Carmel Marrinan, the mother of seven who was killed in her home early on Tuesday morning.
The remains were received at the Church of the Holy Rosary by local curate Fr Fergal Cunnane and other priests of the parish.
Ms Marrinan, a nurse who worked at the local Sacred Heart Hospital, will be laid to rest today in the New Cemetery, Castlebar, following requiem Mass at 11am.
Queues of mourners formed outside the mortuary at Mayo General Hospital to pay their last respects. Prominent among the mourners were nursing colleagues and members of the GAA.
The late Ms Marrinan and her husband, Séamus, were prominent in GAA and other social and sporting circles in Castlebar.
The Marrinans were a quiet couple, devoted to each other and their family.
One neighbour described her as being like a sister to her, always popping in and out for a visit. In the early hours of Tuesday morning Ms Marrinan was stabbed, apparently after getting out of bed to check on noise downstairs.
When gardaí arrived at the family home in Blackfort, on the outskirts of Castlebar, just before 4am, they found the injured woman in the hallway being treated by ambulance personnel.
She had stab wounds to her hands, which suggested she had been trying to defend herself, as well as other wounds to her body.
Ms Marrinan was pronounced dead shortly after being admitted to Mayo General Hospital, which is about 1.6km from her home.
A 29-year-old man was arrested at the scene soon afterwards and brought to the local Garda station for questioning.
He has since has been charged with the murder of Ms Marrinan and remanded in custody to appear at Castlebar District Court next Wednesday.