Gardaí investigating the death of a schoolgirl at her Co Kilkenny home at the weekend are hoping her mother's ill health will improve enough to allow them interview her today.
They believe she may be able to assist them in explaining some of the circumstances surrounding the death and the initial discovery of the dead girl's remains.
Ciara Gibbs (16) was found dead in her home on Sunday morning by her father, Gerard, on his return from an overnight trip to Co Tipperary. His wife, Lynn, was in a collapsed state in the house. She is believed to have been the first person to see the 16-year-old dead.
The Irish Times understands a postmortem on her remains has revealed a conclusive cause of death. The inquiry has not been upgraded to a murder inquiry, indicating foul play is not suspected at this time.
There were no signs of violence in the house or on the dead girl's remains. Garda sources also said there were no signs of a break in and that they are not seeking anybody in relation to their inquiry.
Mr Gibbs had been accompanied by his 14-year-old son while it is believed that his wife and daughter spent Saturday night at the family home in the townland of Killure, near the village of Goresbridge.
After finding his wife in "a collapsed state", Mr Gibbs contacted the emergency services and Mrs Gibbs was taken by ambulance to St Luke's Hospital in Kilkenny where she remains.
Supt Aiden Roche of Thomastown Garda station said last night that Mrs Gibbs was "ill" and was "not in a fit medical condition" to be interviewed.
He said gardaí were "liaising with the medical authorities" to determine when it may be possible to interview her.
Supt Roche was speaking after a meeting with State Pathologist Prof Marie Cassidy, who had travelled to Thomastown yesterday afternoon to brief the Garda investigation team, having earlier carried out a postmortem at Waterford Regional Hospital. Supt Roche said it would be "unwise" to release details of the results of the postmortem while their "investigation into the unexplained circumstances" that led to Ciara's death was ongoing.
The family's house, protected by electronic gates and situated on a quiet rural road about 10 miles from Kilkenny city, remains under Garda protection and is being examined by members of the Garda Technical Bureau.
Gardaí were last night contacting the parents of a number of classmates of the deceased girl whom they wished to interview.
Fr Larry Malone, the parish priest of Goresbridge and Paulstown, has visited the house and said he was "trying to help a family through their time of grief and suffering". Local residents said the family was not well known and were relatively new to the area, having relocated there some years ago. A friend of the Gibbs family told The Irish Times that "Ciara was a lovely, caring and sensitive girl" who had excelled at school and had achieved outstanding results in her Junior Cert exams earlier this year.
Ms Gibbs was a student at the Loreto Secondary School in Kilkenny and it is understood that she had been due to begin a work experience programme with a local solicitor yesterday as part of her transition year studies and had ambitions of becoming a lawyer. School principal, Helen Renehan issued a statement of "shock and grief at the loss of Ciara . . . a beautiful, talented young girl" and expressed sympathy to her family, relatives and friends.