Friends of slain railway worker Ian Walsh said he was perfectly normal in the days before his violent death and never mentioned any fears or disagreements with anyone.
The popular railway worker, who was on his summer holidays as a rail signaller at Kent station in Cork, was stabbed in his home in Carrick-on-Suir, Co Tipperary, it is understood.
Gardaí are following multiple lines of inquiry, including that his attacker may have been known to him.
The body of Mr Walsh, age 49, was found by relatives at his home in Ravenswood on Cregg Rd early on Monday morning. The last confirmed sighting of him alive was on last Friday evening.
In a statement, gardaí said: “A post-mortem examination has been carried out by the Deputy State Pathologist, Dr Yvonne McCarthy and preliminary results have been provided to the investigation team. These details are not being released for operational reasons.”
Fellow rail worker and longtime friend Donal Fallon, who had known Mr Walsh since they were teenagers, said that he was “totally shocked over what’s happened”. Mr Walsh was a decent person who would “help anyone if he could,” he said.
“This whole thing is just so strange whatever has gone on. He would message me every week or two, but it’s two weeks since I heard from him,” Mr Fallon said.
“He didn’t mention anything about any issues, so this is a strange one.
“He did largely keep to himself and worked as much as he could but loved the railway and transport. It’s just so sad.”
Another friend of Mr Walsh’s, Ciarán Casey, said: “He was a very friendly man, well liked by everyone.”
Mr Walsh was physically very fit, frequently cycling across the country, he said.
Mr Casey was in contact with him just last week and saw him last in late July, and their interactions were perfectly normal.
“It’s an absolute shock,” Mr Casey said.
He was a lovely chap. He was very friendly and very knowledgeable about trains.
“He also knew about buses.”
Mr Walsh was single and lived alone, Mr Casey said.
He had passed his test for a professional bus licence in recent months.
Driving professionally was “something he wanted to do but he never got the chance to do it,” Mr Casey said.
Iarnród Éireann expressed shock at the passing of the “well-known and popular colleague”.
In a statement, the company said: “All of us in Iarnród Éireann are shocked and saddened at Ian’s passing.
“Ian was a well-known and popular colleague across the company, both in his working life in roles from catering to signalling, and for his passion for railway and transport tourism and heritage.”
Gardaí are continuing to appeal for anyone with information to come forward, including road users who were in the area of Cregg Rd, Carrick-on-Suir, between 8pm on Friday, August 1, and 3.30am on Monday, August 4.