Gearoid Keegan: Tullamore has been shaken to its core by Ashling Murphy's murder

'Returning to a sombre Tullamore I saw the Christmas lights had been switched on again. There were even more flowers and candles on the canal bank. Ashling's bright soul lives on too'

A young woman among the thousands keeping vigil for murdered school teacher Ashling Murphy and lighting a candle against the darkness in Tullamore. Picture: Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

The words 'community spirit' are uttered with such immediacy and so frequently at times of tragedy that we run the risk of undermining their power.

What does 'community' even mean? It means individuals, it means families, it means peer groups, it means classrooms of children, it means bands of musicians, it means camogie teams. All of these, and more, have been touched in Tullamore and across Offaly this week.