The funeral of Ms Nicola Sweeney, the Cork woman who was murdered at her home in the city on Saturday night, will take place tomorrow to Churchtown Cemetery, Beaufort, Co Kerry.
Ms Sweeney would have celebrated her 20th birthday today.
Her father, Mr John Sweeney, a native of Glenbeigh, Co Kerry, and her mother, Mrs Josephine Sweeney, were in London, where they have extensive business interests, when they heard the news.
They returned to Cork on Sunday night and spent the night at a hotel as gardaí carried out a forensic examination of their detached home on the Rochestown Road.
Ms Sweeney and her friend, Ms Sinéad O'Leary (19), of Montenotte, Cork, were watching a video on Saturday evening when an intruder brandishing a knife entered the house and attacked them.
Ms O'Leary suffered serious injuries in the attack from which she is recovering at Cork University Hospital. As Ms Sweeney fled upstairs, the attacker followed her and fatally wounded her. She was found dead on a bedroom floor.
Yesterday friends and relatives were comforting Mr and Mrs Sweeney and their sons, Sean and Christopher.
Nicola's uncle, Mr Brendan Sweeney, was among family members who travelled to Cork from Kerry to be with them. He said his niece had never been happier than when she returned from London to live in Cork.
A former pupil of Scoil Mhuire, Cork, where she did her Leaving Certificate after taking O-levels in London, Nicola was remembered yesterday by the school manager, Ms Mary O'Donovan, as a popular student. She went on to study at Skerries Business College.
The removal will take place this evening from Brennan's Funeral Home, Glenbeigh, to the Church of St James, Glenbeigh.
Requiem Mass will be at noon tomorrow followed by burial at Churchtown Cemetery, Beaufort.