Around 50 people gathered in Limerick last night to remember Geila Ibram, who was killed in the city last Tuesday.
The vigil was organised by local Social Democrats councillor Elisa O’Donovan, who said she wanted to organise the event as a show of solidarity with the Romanian woman’s family.
She said: "It is extremely important that when something like this happens and when the news came through, it was just shocking to hear.
READ MORE - Man, 26, appears in court charged with 'vicious and frenzied' murder of Geila Ibram
"Even though she had only been here a few short weeks, she deserved to be safe, she deserved to be protected and she deserved to be able to go home alive to her family, and that has not happened."
Last week, Cllr O’Donovan said that while locals in the area were saddened by the news of Geila’s death, they were perhaps not surprised due to the amount of women who had gone missing or died in the area in previous years.
"I guess I said that because we know that there has been women who have gone missing in this area, who have died in very violent circumstances in this area, I know from people contacting me that they sometimes do not feel safe in Limerick City," Cllr O’Donovan said.
Limerick Sinn Fein TD Maurice Quinlivan also attended the vigil and said it was important to show the city’s support to the woman’s family.
"I think it’s very important that we stand in solidarity with what happened, everyone in Limerick was really shocked by this.
"My heart was broken, I’ve nieces and nephews the same age it’s just obviously shocking for something like that to happen."
The 27-year-old Romanian woman was killed in an apartment block just metres from where the vigil took place.
26-year-old Afghan national Habib Shamel was before Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday, charged with Ms Ibram’s murder following his arrest in Belfast.
Shamel appeared at Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday and was remanded in custody until May 2.
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