KILKENNY WOMAN Sharon Whelan, whose body was found in her home on Christmas Day, did not die as a result of the fire that claimed the lives of her two daughters, gardaí now believe.
Postmortem results suggest Ms Whelan (30) was already dead by the time the fire destroyed her remote rented home near the village of Windgap on the Kilkenny-Tipperary border.
Gardaí believe that Ms Whelan's daughters Zara (7) and Nadia (2) died of smoke inhalation.
The three bodies were pulled from the house at about 9am on Christmas Day when locals saw the property engulfed in flames.
State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy has carried out postmortems on the remains of the three victims.
However, the results of a number of laboratory tests are awaited before the exact cause of Ms Whelan's death can be established.
While Ms Whelan's death remains unexplained, the status of the investigation has not been upgraded to a homicide inquiry at this stage.
Gardaí are hopeful the examination of the house and the results of laboratory tests from the postmortem on Ms Whelan will progress the investigation.
Gardaí have also spoken to members of Ms Whelan's extended family and to her friends in the hope they might be able to provide information.
The fire may have started in a kitchen area in the back of the house.
Christmas lights had been erected in the back garden and were plugged into a socket in the kitchen via an extension lead.
One line of investigation is that the wiring may have started the fire.
Ms Whelan and her daughters were in their beds in the opposite end of the house and their bodies were not touched by the flames.
Members of the Garda Technical Bureau are to erect scaffolding around the house and kitchen extension in a bid to access all areas of the scene without disturbing potential evidence.
It is expected that it will take some days for gardaí to establish the cause of the fire and whether any accelerants were used.
As a result of the lengthy postmortems and tests at Waterford General Hospital, the remains of the mother and two children have not yet been released for burial.
Ms Whelan's uncle, Pat Hayes, said local gardaí have been unable to give relatives any commitments on when the three bodies can be released for funerals.
"The hardest thing in particular has been the long delay in releasing the bodies," he said.