Dozens of bunches of flowers, teddy bears and candles sit against the wall outside the home where three young siblings died in a violent incident in west Dublin.
Lisa Cash, 18, and her eight-year-old twin siblings Christy and Chelsea Cawley, died after the incident at their home in Rossfield Avenue in Tallaght.
Pictures of the three, showing Christy and Chelsea making their first Holy Communion, sit among the long row of floral tributes.
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Messages from young children cover the wall outside the home where the family lived. Many say how they will miss their friends while others are simple RIP messages.
People visited the scene throughout the day, leaving flowers and candles, while describing their disbelief and shock.
Schoolchildren and friends of the victims broke down in tears as their parents struggled to find the words to comfort them.
Many neighbours said they will never forget what they saw and heard in the early hours of Sunday.
One neighbour, who did not want to give his name, said he heard screaming at about 12am.
“A short time later I was watching a film and the screams got unbelievable,” he told the PA news agency.
“I went outside and could see gardai with their weapons out. There was a lot of commotion and people out on the street. We couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
“It was very traumatic to see it all happen.
“They were a lovely, beautiful family. Our granddaughter sometimes played with the kids out on the street.
“We could hear the screams and none of us slept that night. People will not get over this. The community is rocked badly, mentally and physically.
“The guards did really well that night. They should be given medals. And the paramedics fought and fought so hard to save them.
“Lisa was a beautiful young girl and she tried her best to save those kids.”
Another neighbour, who also asked not to be named, said: “Their mother arrived at the house and screamed and screamed.
“Their brother who was in the house went to get help. He is their hero.
“There are no words to describe what we saw and what happened.
“The children were private and quiet and so lovely. The whole community will need counselling now. It’s not right.”
Mayor of South Dublin County Council and Fianna Fail councillor Emma Murphy placed flowers on behalf of the local authority at the scene.
“This is the most tight-knit community,” she said.
“It’s a growing community, and the community in Brookfield are just phenomenal people who are great community people who are brilliant at supporting each other.
“They’re now going to need each other more than ever.”
On Sunday, the Brookfield Community Centre opened to help people gather and deal with the tragic news. Pictures created by the children in the area were hung on the walls.
“It doesn’t feel like real life,” councillor Theresa Costello told the PA news agency.
“There’s no words. You go up there and you see pain.”
Ms Murphy added: “Yesterday morning, the Brookfield Community Centre was opened up – this huge amount of traffic came through it yesterday morning, with young people, elderly people, people who just wanted to go to have a cup of tea to sit down and try and make sense of something that nobody is ever going to be able to make sense of.
“We’ve lost three young, vibrant, beautiful lives out of our community, in the most unimaginable terms, and it’s going to be a really difficult road ahead for the community.”
Describing the reaction to the tragedy, Ms Murphy said: “It’s so quiet. People are numb.
“I think it’s not sinking in, but it’s there and it’s so raw for people and it’s something you never imagine is going to be on your doorstep.
“The scale of what’s emerging in terms of the detail, you never imagine that’s something to happen, particularly to children, and the wider community here are well aware of what happened because they saw it.
“They saw it from their own houses, from their gardens, from the road.
“And that’s going to be something that we’re really going to have to work with them to deal with as we go forward.
“It’s important to remember the names Lisa, Chelsea and Christy. They’re the three most important people right now.”
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