Gardaí leading the hunt for the killer of Sister Philomena Lyons today called for information from the public on hitchhikers or anyone else acting suspiciously in or around Ballybay in Co Monaghan on Saturday night.
"Somebody saw something and we need them to come forward. This is a small, peaceful, law-abiding town. Something as terrible as this should shock people into action," said Supt Tom Long who is leading the investigation.
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Sister Philomena Lyons
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Supt Long said the response from the public to the investigation had been good so far but more information was required.
"People were seen in the area - people reported to be strangers and people known to the locals. It will take some time to eliminate them all from our inquiries. Gardaí have been out all day long gathering information. When we begin to collate that we will get a better picture of whether we have a suspect."
He added that he hoped the brutal nature of her death would shock people into reporting information.
Sister Philomena (68) was a member of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart order. She was found dead outside St Joseph's convent in Co Monaghan on Saturday night just hours before she was due at a friend's 100th birthday celebrations.
Ballybay parish priest Fr Gerard McSorley, who led the local Catholic congregation in prayers for Sister Philomena on Saturday and yesterday, described her murder as "horrific" and said it had devastated the community.
"It is one of the very, very sad moments for our parish. We are devastated and the community will be too when they realise that this can happen in our town." He said Sister Philomena, whom he had known for 11 years, was "a lovely person".
"She was a very innocent person who could see nothing else in life but doing good for others. That's the tragedy. She was so good and yet she had to die in this way. She had a word for everyone and she couldn't see the bad in anyone".
An incident room has been set up at Ballybay Garda station. Gardaí can be contacted there on (042) 9741743 or (042) 9741320.