An Irish woman living in Bondi has recalled the "sheer terror and panic" as yesterday's gun attack in which 15 people were killed unfolded.
The alleged attackers, a father and son, fired into crowds at the beach in Sydney for the start of Hanukkah yesterday evening local time.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh, Ciara Ahern said it was something she will remember "probably forevermore".
She said young children ran by her having fled the beach "just in their swimwear and bare feet".
"All the young children who had obviously been separated from friends and family were very disorientated, they weren't exactly clear on kind of where to go or what to do.
"A lot of our neighbours were trying to guide them in indoors... sheer terror is really the only way of describing it."
The former garda press officer said she quickly recognised what was unfolding when the shots were fired.
"I knew pretty quickly, based on my own background, that the sequence of shooting was particularly sustained," she said.
Ms Ahern said the events on Bondi Beach would have a "ripple effect across Australia".
"Not just at Bondi Beach and the eastern suburbs or even Sydney, I do think that this will have a ripple effect across Australia," she said.
"I think as a whole country, and even as immigrants ourselves and the Irish community across Australia, we'll all be feeling this.
"It will certainly all make us stop and consider our own contribution, our place in society and what we can do to help this and how, not just the Jewish community will feel after this, but other minorities and people from other backgrounds too."
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Earlier, Ireland's Chief Rabbi Yoni Wieder said the attack in Sydney was "a sickening, bloodthirsty act of terror that has shaken us to our core."
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, he said: "We have to be very clear, this was an attack first and foremost against Jewish people, but it was also an attack against our collective values, the very values that are fundamental to having a civilised moral society."
Rabbi Wieder said that the attack on the first day of Hanukkah meant that the Jewish community would probably be more conspicuous than they would be otherwise.
"And for that an incident like this to happen on a time like that and a day like that which is meant to be about sharing light to the world is so painful."
On the concerns of the Irish Jewish community, Rabbi Wieder said "right now the sense of grief is profound and very raw, but the Jewish people have endured far darker moments in our history, and we will get through this too."
Rabbi Wieder met Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly yesterday and said he is grateful to him for making contact.
Gardaí said there would be increased garda patrols at centres and events for the Irish Jewish community and liaison inspectors have been appointed to ensure gardaí continue to provide members of the Jewish community with support.
Rabbi Wieder said while the community is "so appreciative of the gardaí for their reassurances yesterday and for all the additional support they've given us over the past two years.
"But this cannot be addressed by policing alone. We must not get into the cycle of building ever higher fences and deploying ever more guards."
