The Co Donegal town of Buncrana has seen more than its share of sadness and heartache in recent years.
In July 2010, eight men lost their lives in a two car collision just outside the town.
And just a year ago, five members of the same family died when their car slid from the pier into Lough Swilly, a harrowing tragedy that caused profound and widespread shock.
In the past two weeks, people living in this quiet area have had to come to terms with yet more dreadful news, this time that a young woman from the town had been brutally murdered in Goa, India.
Danielle McLaughlin, aged 28, had set off to do what so many young Irish people do - travelling, seeing the world, making new friends and living life to the full.
It is every parent's worst nightmare, watching a child head off on a great adventure only to be told that something terrible has happened to them.
The circumstances of Danielle's death are especially disturbing.
She had been staying in a beach hut with an Australian female friend and both had been celebrating the Hindu festival of Holi in a nearby village.
However, the Co Donegal woman left the village late at night and her body was found the next day with injuries to her head and face. It emerged she had been raped and strangled.
Her funeral yesterday was very much a celebration of the life of a young woman who clearly made a positive and lasting impression on so many people, some of whom had travelled from overseas to attend the Requiem Mass.
As Fr Francis Bradley said, the outpouring of sympathy and support for Danielle's family showed that `good always overcomes evil.'
As Buncrana mourns one of its own, the thoughts and prayers of the wider community will be with the family of Danielle McLaughlin at this difficult time.
