The body of murdered Irish student Karen Buckley is expected to be flown home today, accompanied by her family, after it was officially released by authorities in Glasgow yesterday.

“There is an outpouring of love and helplessness,” said Mourneabbey-born Fr Seán Corkery as he tried to sum up the feelings of a small tight-knit community experiencing a rollercoaster of emotions as news filtered back from Glasgow that police had officially identified Karen Buckley’s body.

Hundreds of people gathered at a church in Mourneabbey last night for a Mass of Hope for missing student Karen Buckley as word filtered through that police in Scotland had detained a man for questioning in relation to her disappearance.

While the sun shone brightly on a rural community in Co Cork, there was a cloud of anxiety hanging over locals yesterday as they tuned into news bulletins in the hope missing Karen Buckley would be found safe and well many miles away in Glasgow.