Gardaí do not expect to pursue any criminal charges following the fatal shooting of a 25-year-old woman at her family home in Co Cavan on Christmas Day.
The woman, named locally as Sarah Blakely, was accidentally shot dead by her brother who had taken a shotgun from storage not realising the gun was loaded. The legally held double barrel shotgun was to be used during a day's hunting yesterday.
However, when it was taken from its place of storage in the family home it accidentally discharged fatally wounding Ms Blakely.
One local source who spoke to The Irish Times said he understood the gun had been stored in the living room area of the house.
"What seems to have happened is that the young lad didn't know the gun was loaded and that the barrels hadn't been cleared when it was put away the last time it was used. It was an awful tragedy particularly on Christmas Day."
The accident happened at the Blakely family home near the Co Cavan village of Kilnaleck, about 11 miles from Cavan town, at 2pm just after the family had finished Christmas dinner.
Ms Blakely, who worked in a bank in Arva, Co Cavan, had two brothers, one older and one younger. It is understood the gun was discharged accidentally when it was being examined by one of the young men.
A number of pheasant shoots held close to Lough Sheelin, near the Blakely family home, were cancelled yesterday as a mark of respect.
The victim's mother and father, who run the family farm, were at home at the time. They alerted the emergency services but their daughter was pronounced dead at the scene.
Ms Blakely's remains were taken to Cavan General Hospital for postmortem examination.
The scene of the shooting was sealed off by gardaí and the gun was removed for analysis.
However, Garda sources said the shooting was being treated as a "tragic accident".
Detectives from the Cavan/Monaghan Garda Division took brief statements from distressed family members for a preliminary report.
Ms Blakely's brother, who was handling the gun at the time of the accident, was said to be in a state of severe shock following the shooting.
As news of the Christmas Day tragedy spread throughout Co Cavan, neighbours, family friends, and relatives from Kilnaleck and nearby Granard and Ballyjamesduff went to the victim's home to comfort her family.Former colleagues of the young woman at the Ulster Bank said last night they were stunned.
Members of the small Church of Ireland congregation in the Cavan area described the accident as an "intolerable blow" to the family.
Fine Gael TD for Cavan/Monaghan, Seymour Crawford asked the media not to intrude on the family in their period of mourning.
"I have received a plea from the family to request that camera crews remain away from their home and the funeral so that they can grieve in private for their loved one."
Local Church of Ireland rector Rev Canon James Sides, who was comforting the family last night, said everyone in the community was devastated by the young woman's tragic death.