The daughter of the Dublin man, murdered this week in South Africa, has written on Facebook about how “completely numb” she feels. Kevin McGuirk, and his South African wife, were shot by her father, Erwin Franz Poppinger, at their Johannesburg home.

Kevin’s daughter, Siobhan McGuirk, wrote about her father describing him as a man with a “huge smile” who could always make her laugh. She said now all she has left are the memories.

On her Facebook page she wrote “I will never forget his huge smile and how he could always make me laugh or smile when I was crying or upset…Woke up this morning and realized I wasn’t dreaming. It really happened. I guess all I have left is memories."

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Jason McGuirk, the man’s nephew, described his murder as the worst news of his life. On his Facebook page he said he was in “pure shock” and said McGuirk was a “great uncle."

He wrote: “Still cant get over the news today everyone just in pure shock its a crazy world we live in miss ya kev (sic).”

A friend of the couple, Natalie Claremont, paid tribute to the couple.  She said: “Everyone is in total, complete shock…They were such a lovely couple and a really strong part of the diving community. Nobody can believe what has happened, we are stunned."

Kevin and Kim McGuirk met several years ago and bonded over their love of diving. They owned a company, Africa Diving Scuba, in Alberton outside Johannesburg.

It is understood that Kevin McGuirk’s father-in-law waited until the couple were in bed, asleep, before entering the room and firing two shots. He turned himself in the next morning. The shots were fired from his licensed gun.

It is believed that Poppinger and the couple had fought over money the previous morning.