Investigation launched into deaths of mother and her two children in Dublin

Candlelit vigil held as bodies of a woman and two children were removed from a house in south Dublin this Wednesday evening. Gardaí are investigating the deaths of a mother and her 11 year old daughter and six year old son. The house in Ballinteer has been sealed off. Gardaí are investigating the deaths. An ambulance arrived at the house on Wednesday evening to remove the bodies. Later about 200 people held a vigil for the woman and her children on the main green area on the estate off Llewellyn Lawn, according to the Irish Times. The impromptu memorial described as "a Dublin community struggling to make sense of what had just happened in their midst" saw those attending leave their candles under the largest tree on the park.

One resident said "we didn’t know them very well, they were private people.” Asked how people were feeling after what had happened, she said the estate was in disbelief and shock about what had happened. “We just said we have to be here together for them. There is a lot of emotion, it’s just very sad,” she said. Gardai believe the bodies of the three victims may have lain undiscovered for a number of days. Gardaí also said they have established contact with the woman’s husband and father to the children on Wednesday afternoon and that he is speaking to the investigating team. It is understood all of the resources of a murder inquiry have been committed to the case pending the outcome of postmortem results. In a statement issued this afternoon, Gardaí said: “Gardaí from Dundrum Garda Station responded to a call at Llywellen Court, Ballinteer shortly before midday today.

“On arrival at the scene Gardaí discovered the bodies of a 37 year old female and two children, an 11 year old girl and a six year old boy. The house has been designated a crime scene, the services of the Garda Technical Bureau have been requested and the scene will undergo a technical examination. The Office of the State Pathologist has been informed, and the remains of the woman and her children were still at the scene on Wednesday afternoon where they were expected to undergo a preliminary examination by a pathologist later in the day. Neighbours became concerned for the welfare of the woman and her children late on Wednesday morning and they went to investigate at the semi-detached house in an estate close to Marlay Park. Some local people said there were reports locally of noise coming from the house, including screaming, on Tuesday night. Late on Wednesday morning, when concerned neighbours were unable to contact the woman and their calls to the house were not answered, the Garda was contacted. Garda members, including armed officers, forced their way into the property early on Wednesday afternoon and found the woman and her two young children dead. It is understood the children were found dead in a bedroom and that the woman’s remains were also discovered upstairs in the property. The woman had been the victim of an alleged assault by a person known to her in recent months, though it was not clear if that was in any way connected to her death. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamnacha dílis.