Candles lit in two countries to honour Karen Buckley’s memory

People across Ireland, as well as in Glasgow, lit a candle at 10pm last night to honour the memory of Karen Buckley.

The RIP Karen Buckley Facebook page called on people to make the gesture and say a prayer for the murdered student.

“Tonight at 10pm lots of you will be lighting a candle in respect and thoughtfulness where you can say a prayer or just sit quietly in remembrance of Karen, the Irish rose who has been taken far too soon in such a cruel way,” it posted.

Meanwhile, organisers of the fund set up to assist the Buckley family with accommodation expenses, travel, and upkeep of their farm in Cork thanked the almost 3,000 people who donated money.

The Go Fund Me page raised over £50,000 (€69,000) in just 24 hours — 10 times the initial target of £5,000.

“A heartfelt thank-you to everyone who has donated. To everyone still trying to donate please know we appreciate it, please light a candle in Karen’s memory or make a donation to a charity of your choice. Sleep tight Karen, from your heartbroken University of Limerick General Nursing Cohort 2009,” said a post on the page.

Donators to the fund from all over Ireland and Scotland continued to post messages of sympathy and support for the Buckley family. Among them was Alan Barrie, who said: “From a Scottish cop and family, this used to be my stomping ground, such a tragedy. Thoughts with Karen’s family and friends.”

Meanwhile, a Limerick student’s plan to raise awareness of the dangers faced by young people out socialising has gone viral in the wake of the killing of the Cork student. Hilary McGann’s Facebook post entitled ‘OUT’, which urges young people to create ‘group chats’ on their mobile phones while on nights out, has now received 3,425 ‘likes’ and 668 shares across social media.

“OUT stands for Organise a group chat; Use it to stay in touch, and Text home when you’re safe and sound. Maybe little measures like that could make a small difference,” Hilary said.

The journalism student at University of Limerick, where Karen Buckley studied prior to moving to Glasgow, said: “I’m a 23-year -old student. I’ve been out in (Limerick City) myself and I’ve made mistakes where I’ve woke up the next morning and took for granted that my friends might have made it home safe,” she said. “We have all done this. I’m not saying that I’m not guilty of that. That’s not the message. I’m saying that, going forward, maybe I’m going to change my outlook a bit, and say (to my friends), ‘Are you home safe?’, ‘Where are you?’ ‘Are you ok?’”

The final year journalism student added: “This case has highlighted to many, and has started a national conversation about the dangers that are out there. Going forward, I would hope that an idea as simplistic really as OUT, may help in preventing someone becoming involved in a harmful situation.”

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