THE BODY of a Dublin woman was discovered just hours before her infant son was found dead at home in the early hours of Thursday morning.
The woman has been named locally as paediatric nurse Nicola Keane, who was believed to be in her 30s.
She was found under a bridge near the family home in Lucan, Co. Dublin, shortly before her seven-month-old son was discovered unresponsive by gardaí.
According to the Irish Times, the father of the baby was totally unaware of the double tragedy that had befallen his family, and was only alerted to the situation when gardaí woke him up to inform him about Nicola's death.
It was at this point that garda members found the couple's seven-month-old baby Henry unresponsive. He was later confirmed dead at the scene.
The incidents are being treated as a family tragedy for the time being, but investigations are ongoing.
A source said last night: "This is a terrible tragedy. Gardaí are not looking for anyone else.
"The post mortem on the baby will determine which way the investigation will go."
Pic: Nicola Keane (Facebook)Gardaí were treating the death of the baby as "unexplained" and were awaiting results to determine if foul play was a factor.
According to some reports, the post-mortem was deemed inconclusive, saying that the cause of death could've been "asphyxiation, but it may have been an accident."
In a statement, gardaí said: "We are conducting an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the discovery of a body of a woman on the Lower Road, Strawberry Beds, Lucan, Co. Dublin and the unexplained death of an infant boy in a house in Lucan Co. Dublin on 22nd October, 2020.
"At approximately 3.45am on 22nd October, 2020 following reports of a pedestrian seen acting suspiciously at the M50 (toll plaza) bridge, Gardaí discovered the body of a woman at Lower Road, Strawberry Beds.
"Following this incident Gardaí went to a house in Lucan where an 7-month-old baby boy was found in an unresponsive condition. He was pronounced dead at the scene a short time later.
"An incident room has be established at Lucan Garda Station and a technical examination of the scene has taken place. The Coroner and Office of the State Pathologist have been notified.
"The body of the infant has been removed to Crumlin Hospital and the body of the woman has been removed to the City Morgue where post-mortem examinations will be carried out.
"At this stage investigating Gardaí are treating these incidents as a family tragedy and are not currently seeking anyone else in connection with the deaths.
"No further information is available at this time. Investigations are ongoing."
