Masuma Sohrabi, who was killed in Co Galway this week, was a loving and warm person whose aim in life was to support her children, community members in Clifden have said.The 31-year-old, originally from Tehran in Iran, arrived in Ireland in 2024 and had been living in Clifden for about 18 months. The mother of two young children is understood to have left Iran to escape the country’s repressive regime.Karen Mannion, chief executive of Forum Connemara, a local development organisation running integration and social outreach programmes, said the community was in shock. “These things don’t happen here,” she said. “It just feels surreal to us.” Mannion said the forum, which helps new arrivals to integrate into the local community, had contacted other residents of Waterloo House, the emergency accommodation centre where Sohrabi lived, following Thursday’s sad news. “We are very concerned as well about the residents in Waterloo House and what they’ve been going through,” she said. “In Waterloo House, they’re a big family and we want to try to support them. “Our hearts and our thoughts and prayers are with her family.” Describing Sohrabi as a “wonderful lady” and a “valued member” of the community, Mannion said the deceased volunteered at a gardening initiative run by the forum. “She sometimes brought her beautiful children,” she added. Staff at the community garden found Sohrabi to be “incredibly committed to her children”, she said.“I know that her aim in life was supporting her beautiful children, and I think that’s what came across alongside her warmth and motherly love.” Sohrabi worked at a Co Galway hotel, which declined to comment when contacted. PK Joyce, manager of the Waterloo House, the International Protection Accommodation Service (IPAS) centre where she lived with her children, described the deceased as a “great woman” who was well liked around the area. He said this sentiment was shared by the other residents of the property. The company that owns Waterloo House declined to comment.Sohrabi’s children attend the local Scoil Mhuire primary school. In a statement on Thursday, the school said it was “an incredibly sad and difficult time”. “We have become aware of the sudden and tragic passing of a member of our school family. Our hearts go out to her children, her family and all those who loved her,” it said. Owners of local businesses told The Irish Times there was shock in the community at what happened and the circumstances surrounding Sohrabi’s death. “After everything her children went through even coming to Ireland, just think what they are going through now,” said one local who did not wish to be named.Women’s Aid chief executive Sarah Benson said: “We are thinking today of Masuma Sohrabi, and her loved ones, colleagues and community, particularly her two young children.”A vigil in her memory was to be held at Clifden Square on Friday evening.