Parish priest Fr Pat Mernagh said the books were made available in St. Mary’s Parish Church, Kilmore, and in Stella Maris Hall in Kilmore Quay, so the community can “reflect on the lives of two beautiful people”.
The local community centre where Mary worked closed on Friday but opened for the weekend from 10am to 2pm for tea and coffee as a place for locals to gather to remember the couple.Cllr Jim Moore, who is a first cousin of Mary, said: “I suppose the words ‘stunned’ and ‘shocked’ dont’t adequately cover the feelings that have developed since 4pm to 5pm on Thursday afternoon when the family were informed of the double tragedy,” he said.
“We are hoping for progress when the family members travel to Rome but we really don’t know when the bodies will be repatriated,” he said. Paul and Mary were killed crossing the road on the Via Cristoforo Colombo in the south of Rome near the Presidential Palace, Castel Porziano, shortly before 1pm on Thursday.