Paddy Lyons lived all his life in Ballysaggart, a picturesque west Waterford village where the countryside folds into rolling hills, under the Knockmealdown Mountains.
Paddy was 90 when he died but, despite his age, he would often walk the 20km round trip to Lismore, up to a few years before his death.
Local people who passed him would stop and give him a lift to town or on his return trip home.
He was therefore well known. He was also well liked and respected.
Paddy Lyons was described by local people as an honest, decent, religious man, who ran a small dairy farm on the edge of the village until he retired.
He cared for his mother, Nora, and for an aunt who returned from the US to live in Ballysaggart and lived to the age of 100.
A relative spoke of Paddy's longevity too, and said there was "a good ten years in him", before his life ended in such violent circumstances in February 2017.
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Because of his popularity, because he was very clearly "of" Ballysaggart, Paddy Lyons' death is viewed as much as an attack on the community, as it was a personal tragedy for him and his family.
Declan Doocey is Mayor of Waterford City and County. He is a Fine Gael county councillor from Lismore and he knew Paddy Lyons for more than 40 years.
He describes him as an outgoing, inoffensive man who passed the time talking about current affairs, farming issues and sport, and enjoyed dancing and company.
Perhaps, Mr Doocey reflects, that was Paddy Lyons' vulnerability - he loved company.
He says Paddy applied the same standards to everybody else as he upheld himself - he trusted people, maybe too much.
"He was so, so genuine," Mr Doocey said.
"He couldn't see danger. He couldn't see that anyone would damage him or steal from him. He was a decent, decent man and he is hugely missed."
Mr Doocey describes Paddy Lyons' loss, in particular the circumstances surrounding his death, as a burden on the community in Ballysaggart. Life has changed there, he says.
Ballysaggart was a community where people looked after and looked out for each other. It was a community where keys were permanently left in back doors.
After Paddy Lyons' death, people still looked out for one another; but people have become more security conscious and they are wary now. That is true of the wider community too.
Kevin Kiersey is a dairy farmer from Kilmacthomas in Co Waterford. He is also Chairman of the Irish Farmers' Association in the county.
He says there is scarcely a month passes without the issues of rural crime and isolation being raised at IFA meetings. He points to societal changes in rural areas.
Not so long ago, many women worked in the home and their partners - if they were farmers - were around the farm. So there were always people around, even in relatively isolated, rural areas.
Today, however, fewer people are involved in farming.
In fact, it is more the norm that both members of a couple will work away from the home and that the farm will be run on a part-time basis.
That leaves elderly people who live in these communities feeling more isolated, not just by night but by day too.
Kevin Kiersey says people are constantly raising issues about strange cars in their areas, and about people calling to their doors asking for directions who may not be looking for directions at all.
People are concerned that these people might call back another time when there's nobody at home.
He says people in rural areas live with an anxiety of wondering if their home will be the next one to be broken into and, if it is, if there will be violence.
Steps are being taken, however. Community alert groups are active and text alerts help circulate warnings quickly.
But, Mr Kiersey points out that elderly people are less likely to use technology and therefore the people who are most vulnerable end up feeling least secure.
He says gardaí make themselves available to come to farmers' meetings to offer advice.
He appreciates that they do their best on limited resources and says there is a greater need for the enforcement of the law, nationally, when gardaí bring cases to court.
Mr Doocey describes Paddy Lyons' death as unacceptable.
"He got a long way in life to make 90, but it was an awful way for him to have to end his days."
