A young mother was found dead with knife wounds at her home in Carlow yesterday. Gardaí said a postmortem is to be carried out on her body at the city morgue in Dublin.
Her body was discovered following a call to the emergency services at about 1.30pm in the bathroom of her terraced house in Ardmore Gardens, an estate close to Carlow town centre.
A man was taken from the scene and was treated for injuries at St Luke's hospital in Kilkenny. It is understood that his injuries are not life-threatening and gardaí were last night waiting to interview him.
The woman was named locally as Ciara Campbell (22), who is believed to be a native of Belfast but who had lived most of her life in the Springfield area of Tallaght in Dublin.
Ms Campbell had moved to Carlow about a year ago having previously lived in Athy, Co Kildare.
Her four-year-old son, Jamie, who was in the house at the time of the incident, was uninjured. Gardaí said last night he is in the care of relatives.
The house was sealed off yesterday afternoon and members of the Garda Technical Unit arrived at the scene shortly after 6pm to carry out a forensic examination.
The Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Michael Curtis, arrived one hour later and carried out a preliminary examination of the body.
The remains were taken to the mortuary in Carlow last night, before being moved to Dublin this morning for the postmortem examination.
The news shocked residents in the quiet estate where many of the houses are occupied by migrant workers from central and eastern Europe.
A man who lives directly opposite, Maurice Doherty, said he had heard the news on his way home from work and knew the woman to see but did not know her name and described her as "a very quiet person".
A number of women and children who were gathered close to the cordoned-off house spoke of their shock and distress. They said Ms Campbell lived alone.
Tara Donnelly said she was attending a "moving-on" course designed for single parents at a local community centre with Ms Campbell.
She said Jamie was "17 days away from his fifth birthday and she had the party arranged".
Edel McGrath, who also attends the course, described Ms Campbell as "a fantastic mother who was always happy and her life revolved around her child".
Karen Quinn said: "Your heart would go out to the little boy - with Christmas coming."
Alice Dalton, a friend of Ms Campbell's, wept as she arrived to lay flowers at the scene. Ms Dalton described her friend as "such a kind person".
She said that Ms Campbell had moved from Dublin to Athy four years ago and then recently moved to Carlow. She said the father of Jamie lives in Crumlin, Dublin.