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A Polish mother of two who saw her husband slain by a machete wielding gang of masked men at her home in Ballincollig, Co Cork is to return to her native country to continue her recovery.
Elzbieta Wilk, who is from Mogilno in central Poland, lost her husband Mikolaj Wilk (35)after he was set upon and murdered by a gang of up to four men in the family home in Maglin Bridge, Ballincollig on June 10th last.
The couple would have celebrated their seventh wedding anniversary on Sunday having got engaged in 2010.
Aga Deryng, who is a friend of Ms Wilk, set up a Go Fund Me page for the family in the wake of the tragedy. More than €23,000 has been raised for Ms Wilk and her two young children.
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Ms Deryng said the family hoped for privacy as Ms Wilk continued to grieve the loss of her husband.
She stressed that the family were grateful for the immense generosity shown to them in the wake of the tragedy.
“The money will help for physiotherapy and for the children. She (Elzbieta) is leaving soon. I am sad to lose my friend but I hope to see her.”
Ms Wilk had to undergo tendon surgery after one of her hands was cut by a machete during the attack. Three of her fingers were almost severed in the attack. She also had facial and head injuries from the incident in which her husband was killed.
Ms Deryng said the relatives of the deceased were appreciative of the mass outpouring of support from the community.
In particular they are thankful for the solidarity that was extended to them at a recent service in the local church in Ballincollig.
“There was a lovely crowd of people came. Everyone came to sympathise.”
Ms Deryng said the main focus for her friend was on her recovery and the welfare of her children at this point.
Meanwhile, the chaplain of the Polish Community in Cork, Fr Piotr Galus, told the Irish Times on Monday the show of solidarity towards the family from both the Irish and the Polish community had been heartening.
"We are happy with it. (At the recent mass) both Irish and Polish people showed sympathy. We had the Bishop of Cork and the Church of Ireland Canon was there, and of course the Parish priest of Ballincollig. People have shown great sympathy."
Meanwhile, investigations in to the murder are continuing. Last week nine vehicles and seven properties were searched as part of the investigation into the murder of Mr Wilk. Six houses and one commercial property were searched as part of the probe.
A number of the areas were sealed off for forensic examination. Other property including phones and computers were also seized. No arrests have been made in relation to the murder.
When Ms Wilk was still in Cork University Hospital she was visited by the Bishop of Cork, Dr John Buckley.
Ms Wilk was a popular local gardener who ran his own firm H&S Services having been based in Ireland for more than a decade.
Two remembrance masses have been held since his death at the St Augustine’s Church in Cork city centre and in the Church of St Mary and St John.
It is understood the funeral of the deceased will be held in his native Poland. A postmortem indicated that Mr Wilk died of multiple stab and slash wounds.
Mr Wilk grew up in Poznan in Poland and was not known either to gardaí or to police in his own country. Investigations are ongoing.