Members of the Kurdish community in Ireland have been gathering at the home of the young family that died in a head-on collision on the M6 motorway last week.
Karzan Sabah, his wife Shahen Qasm, and their eight month old daughter, Lina, were all killed in the crash.
Mr Sabah and his family had been living in Galway, while he completed a PhD at NUI Galway.
They were returning home when the car they were travelling in collided with a vehicle being driven into oncoming traffic on the M6, near Ballinasloe, last Thursday evening.
The garda investigation into the crash is focusing on the actions of the driver of the car that was travelling in the wrong direction. He was also killed in the collision.
"That little house is only a small house, a very old place, not a lot of valuable things in there, hardly anything... but it's filled with love"
Floral tributes have been left at the family's house in the Riverside estate in Galway, which has been described as a place "full of love".
A close friend of the couple, Berun Abdulla, spoke of the devastation felt by their family in Kurdistan and by members of the Kurdish community here.
He said the hearts of all who knew the deceased had been "shattered into pieces".
"They were so kind and they always approached everything with such positivity... We knew they were not very well off and yet they had such rich hearts."
"That little house is only a small house, a very old place, not a lot of valuable things in there, hardly anything... but it's filled with love. I have so many good memories in there," he said
"We had dinners there, my child playing with their child, my wife and his wife cooking and just talking about things back home and here."
Mr Abdulla also spoke about the joy their daughter Leena had brought to the couple: "They couldn't have kids for six years and eventually this miracle happened, they had little Lina.
"She was absolutely adored that little girl and they were looking forward to bringing her back to Kurdistan in December but now, that day will never come."
Family killed in crash were ready to 'start a new life'
Neighbours say that the couple were among the nicest people they had ever met.
The Chairman of the Riverside Residents' Association, Paschal Spellman, said there was a "complete sense of loss" as a result of the "awful tragedy that happened last Thursday night".
"Devastation is the word, it's a terrible thing that happened [to] a young family just kind of beginning life. He got a new job up in Carlow and they were moving up there... but for this to happen."
Mr Spellman said the thoughts of people in the area with the bereaved families in Kurdistan. He said they "can rest assured that the community here are with them in spirit at this difficult time."
The sense of loss is also felt in NUI Galway, where Mr Sabah had just completed his studies.
The University's Vice President, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, said news of the tragedy had numbed those who knew a "lovely, lovely person".
"They were the new Irish, if you want to put it that way. They came to Ireland four years ago and had a wonderful future ahead of them. He had just submitted his PhD. He had just got himself a lectureship in Carlow.
"People are deeply upset here on campus."
The remains of the young family have yet to be released for burial.
A GoFundMe page is being set up to assist with the repatriation of their remains to Kurdistan.
