A SPECIAL memorial is to be held in Glasgow to mark the first anniversary of the brutal murder of Irish student nurse Karen Buckley.
Karen’s former Glasgow Caledonian University friends and classmates will pay tribute to the Cork woman who was brutally killed on April 12 by callous thug Alexander Pacteau.
The service for students will be held at the university today and was organised by The School of Health and Life Sciences which is the faculty Karen belonged to as a student when she was studying occupational therapy.
A spokeswoman for the university confirmed it would be a private service for the students affected by the death.
READ MORE: Karen Buckley one year on: Timeline of murder that shocked Glasgow
Karen, who was a qualified nurse, had come to Glasgow to further her career. She originally graduated from the University of Limerick before moving to Essex to work as a nurse.
She came to Scotland because she wanted to "specialise" and get a Masters degree at Glasgow Caledonian University which is based in city centre.
Following her disappearance last year, the university offered support and counselling to students.
Many of the university’s students also attended a vigil with Karen’s heartbroken parents, John and Marion Buckley which was held in George Square on April 18 last year shortly after Karen’s body was discovered.
Karen’s devastated friends were in tears and held on to each other during the moving ceremony which attracted hundreds of mourners.
The Glasgow tribute to Karen will take place ahead of a special anniversary mass in Karen’s native Mourneabbey in north Cork.
READ MORE: Karen Buckley one year on: Timeline of murder that shocked Glasgow
Father Joe O'Keeffe, who stood by the Buckley family through the ordeal of the search for Karen and the sentencing of her 21-year-old killer Pacteau, will celebrate the Mass on Friday.
Fr O’Keeffe said: “The family are coping as best they can.
“It will obviously take a long time for them to come to terms with what happened to Karen.”
Karen’s parents are also celebrating the birth of their first grandson on the anniversary of her death.
Fr O’Keeffe said the baby boy, who was born to Karen’s brother, “has brought a new joy” into the Buckley families lives.
It is understood that Friday’s service will be held in the Church of St Michael the Archangel in Analeentha in Cork.
Evil Pacteau was jailed for 23 years for murdering Karen and trying to dispose of her body in an acid bath.
The depraved monster clubbed the popular nurse with a spanner, strangled her and dumped her in a barrel of caustic soda.
READ MORE: Karen Buckley one year on: Timeline of murder that shocked Glasgow
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