A volunteer at Cork Penny Dinners has described a "wave of pain" being felt around Cork City, after the fatal assault of Vanessa O'Callaghan on Sunday night.
The 36-year-old was homeless and was a regular user of Penny Dinners’ services.
She died from her injuries in Cork University Hospital last night and a post-mortem examination on her body is due to take place today.
Gardaí will decide the direction of the investigation once the post-mortem is completed, and preliminary results are available to them.
Ms O'Callaghan was found lying on the ground outside the former Savoy cinema on St Patrick's Street at around 8pm on Sunday.
A soup kitchen was in operation outside the former cinema when a row broke out nearby.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One programme Caitriona Twomey, who runs the volunteer service, said that her team was devastated.
"Our hearts are broken, our spirit is broken, and our sympathy and our hearts are with her family," she said.
Ms Twomey described Ms O’Callaghan as "very innocent and vulnerable".
"She was loved by so many, not just us, the volunteers, but everybody around Cork knew her and they all felt the same, so it’s a big, big pain in the city at the minute".
She said that Ms O’Callaghan always had a "big smile on her face" and let the volunteers know every day how grateful she was.
Regarding homelessness services more generally in Cork, Ms Twomey said that more were needed, whether it is pre-care and aftercare treatment services.
"We need to have more addiction drop-in centres, we need to have more treatment centres, and we need wraparound systems and supports put in place.
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"If somebody goes through a treatment centre and they come out after a month and then they're back on the street, that's obviously a recipe for disaster, so we need consistency.
Ms Twomey said that there are many women on the streets of Cork, adding that the majority are "very vulnerable."
"They're very exposed to danger on the street and there is no protection for them.
"They're lucky if there's somebody else that's homeless that's strong that can protect them, and it shouldn’t be like that."
She added that there is a need for additional emergency accommodation for rough sleepers, with access to support services during the day which would help to get people ready to come out of homelessness.
"It’s a big area, but it now needs to be tackled. In order for people to have a successful outcome, and a second, and third, and fourth chance for all these people that need it, because we're losing too many (people), and we don’t want that to happen anymore".
