Postmortems on a 29-year-old Co Wexford woman and her two children who were found in the River Slaney at the weekend have found they died from drowning.
State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy carried out the postmortems on the bodies of Sharon Grace, and her daughters, Abby (3) and Mikahla (4).
The three bodies were found shortly after 10am on Sunday morning by fishermen at the Kaats Strand, over a mile from Wexford Town, on the eastern side of the Slaney Estuary.
One of the gardaí who assisted in taking the bodies out of the river said yesterday there were no marks on the children's heads or bodies that might have been consistent with a struggle. Gardaí do not suspect foul play and are not seeking anyone else in relation to the case.
A third daughter, Amy (10), was not involved in Saturday's incident and is being looked after by members of Ms Grace's family. Ms Sharon Grace separated from her husband, Barry, last year. Ms Grace's sister, Lillian Reddy said the prospect of a court dispute over access to her two youngest children was preying on her mind. However, it is understood no legal action had been instigated.
"She didn't want to go through the courts system, social workers and all that. She felt distraught. The kids were upset as well. I knew she was upset, but I never thought for a second it was playing on her mind that much."
A spokeswoman for the family of Mr Grace said he was "devastated. He loved Sharon and the kids. He definitely would have been open to the possibility of reconciliation at some stage down the line," she said.
"We were devastated by this and we didn't see it coming. Our heads are in a spin. At this time we're just grieving for the loss of the children and for Sharon. "
The taxi-driver who brought Ms Grace and the two girls from their home in Ballyhine, Barntown, to Wexford, spoke to gardaí yesterday.
According to gardaí there were a number of sightings of a woman and two small children in the Ferrybank area, near Kaats Strand at around 8pm on Saturday night.
The secluded strand is a narrow, stony stretch, looking across the estuary towards the town. It is an area often used by fishermen.
Yesterday morning a small bunch of yellow flowers marked the spot where the three bodies were removed from the water the day before.