Cardinal Sean Brady has offered prayers for the family of murdered Irish woman Jill Meagher at a memorial in St Peter’s Church, Drogheda.
Earlier, family and friends of Mrs Meagher have said an emotional goodbye at her funeral in Melbourne.
The 29-year-old from Drogheda, Co Louth, was killed after a night out in the city nearly two weeks ago.
Her grief-stricken family and a small group of friends attended a private service at Fawkner Memorial Park in Melbourne.
In Drogheda, Cardinal Brady said: “There are no words which can begin to capture the overwhelming grief and loss which Jill’s family and friends must be feeling at this time.
“Jill Meagher represented the hope of a new generation of Irish people, who, despite being far from their homeland, were making a future for themselves abroad.
The Cardinal said the special bond between Ireland and Australia has been evident since her disappearance.
“Jill and her husband John were just starting their married life together in Australia, enjoying what a country like Australia offers to people and following in the footsteps of so many Irish people who have made Australia their home.
“For Jill and her husband John, that hope and their dreams came to a sudden and devastating end on September 22.”
Father Oliver Devine, who married the couple, said Jill Meagher would be remembered as a thinker, a composer of poetry, someone who wanted to make a difference.
Ms Meagher moved with her family to Perth aged six and returned to Ireland aged 16.