A vigil has been held in Limerick city centre to remember two women who were killed in separate incidents in recent days.
Jady Cristine Pereira Rosa, who was originally from Brazil, was found dead at her apartment on Lower Cecil Street in Limerick city on Friday morning.
Gardaí are treating her death as murder-suicide after the body of the primary suspect was discovered in Cork on Saturday.
Annmarie O’Reilly, a mother-of-three originally from Clonmel, County Tipperary, was also murdered in recent days.
She was killed by a man in Melbourne, Australia. An Irish national has been charged in connection with her death and the case is before the courts.
The sombre vigil took place at Bedford Row on Monday evening, with dozens of people gathering to remember the two women.
Those attending were encouraged to light a candle and leave a message on a corkboard. Many people also left flowers beside framed photographs of Ms Pereira Rosa and Ms O’Reilly.
Limerick Live reports Gabriela Lobianco, a Brazilian woman now living in Cork, spoke at the vigil and called for stronger legislation to tackle violence against women.
“Gender-based violence, and violence against women, are structural,” she said.
Ms Lobianco pointed to Brazil’s Lei Maria da Penha law as an example of legislation aimed at protecting women from violence.
During the vigil, the names of women killed in Ireland this year were also read aloud.
Cllr Elisa O’Donovan addressed those gathered and called for an end to gender-based violence.
“We are going to see more femicide in Ireland, unless we tackle the rampant misogyny that we have across the island of Ireland,” she said.
She also recalled a similar vigil held for Geila Ibram, who was murdered in Limerick city in 2023.
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Speaking to Limerick Live after the event, Cllr O’Donovan said that enough is enough when it comes to violence against women.
“We have been here so many times, holding vigils for women who have died in violent circumstances. We are at a crisis point,” she said.
“Women are no longer safe in their own homes.”
The vigil comes as members of the public have also rallied around Ms Pereira Rosa’s family.
More than €25,000 has now been donated towards the costs of her funeral and the repatriation of her remains to Brazil.
