Gardaí are to prepare a file for the Coroner's Court following the death of a young mother and her nine-month-old baby in a drowning incident near Kilworth in north Cork at the weekend.
The woman, named locally as 33-year-old Nollaig Owen, and her son, Tadhg, drowned on Saturday morning in the Araglin river, which flows through Glenseskin Wood.
Ms Owen had gone for a walk with her infant son in his buggy at about 8.45am, leaving her family home on Main Street, Kilworth, and heading towards the popular walk in the wood.
When she failed to return home at 10.30am, her husband, Gareth Owen, and other family members became concerned for her and Tadhg as the baby was due to be fed.
They began searching in Glenseskin Wood, just over a quarter of a mile from Kilworth village, and were not far from the river when a passer-by walking in the wood spotted the mother and infant in the water.
The baby was still strapped in his buggy, which was found overturned in the river, while the body of Ms Owen was found nearby in less than three feet of water.
Gardaí were alerted and shortly afterwards cordoned off the area to allow Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster carry out a preliminary examination of the bodies at the scene.
Prayers were said by local parish priest Fr Donal Leahy and Fr Tadhg O'Donovan from nearby Araglin parish, before the bodies of the mother and child were removed to hospital.
Dr Bolster carried out postmortems at Cork University Hospital on Saturday afternoon, which confirmed that both Ms Owens and her son died from drowning.
Supt Con Cadogan of Fermoy Garda station described the deaths "as a terrible tragedy for the family" and said gardaí were not looking for anyone else in connection with the deaths.
He appealed to anyone who may have seen Ms Owen and her child after they left the family home in Kilworth village to contact Fermoy Garda station on 025-82100.
Local people left bouquets of flowers in the quiet woodland spot where the tragedy happened and prayers were said at local Masses in Kilworth and surrounding parishes yesterday.
Fine Gael Cllr Liam O'Doherty said Nollaig's family, the Kenneallys, were very well known and respected in the area. Nollaig's late father, Donal Kenneally, owned a construction firm in the town and the family also ran a pub for many years.
Fr Leahy said Nollaig was from a big family who were well liked in the parish.
"It is very tragic. The Kenneallys are one of the old families of Kilworth and it would always have been a welcoming house open to everyone."
The funeral will take place at Kilworth parish church tomorrow, with burial following at Kilcrumper cemetery.
The time of the funeral had yet to be confirmed yesterday.
A native of Kilworth, Ms Owen met her husband, who is South African, when he worked at Bupa Ireland in Fermoy. They moved to South Africa when they married a couple of years ago.
Tadhg, the couple's only child, was born in Johannesburg last November but the family moved to the UK around Christmas time and Ms Owen returned frequently to Kilworth on visits.
It is understood that she and her husband and child had only returned to the north Cork village two weeks ago and were staying in the family home when the tragedy happened.
A spokeswoman for the Health Service Executive said it was prepared to offer counselling to family members affected by the tragedy.