The Garda Representative Association has called for increased resources in rural policing, suggesting a link between the Nally case and the recent closure of sub-district Garda stations.
An editorial in the Garda Review, the association's magazine, said the representative body had for years warned that the closure of such stations would cause people in outlying areas to feel increasingly isolated and in fear of crime.
The Nally case served to illustrate the level of fear and vulnerability felt by those living alone in rural areas, it said.
"No life is worth less than another under the eyes of the law, and no one condones anyone taking the law into their own hands.
"But we have warned the authorities time and again that the policy of withdrawing gardaí from the heart of the rural community would, sooner or later, result in such a tragic outcome," the editorial read.
"Unless in the most extreme circumstances no member of the public should take the law into their own hands; and neither should they have to."
It was time that the Government's policy was reversed and members of the force should be reintroduced to rural communities before the problem spiralled and incidents like the Nally case became commonplace, the editorial added.
The GRA claims that rural communities are not only losing sub-district stations, but also the personnel attached to them as they are not being replaced on retirement.
