The funerals will take place today in Bundoran, Co Donegal, of the 26-year-old woman and her daughter who were found dead on Tuesday at their home in Letterkenny.
Caitríona Innes and her daughter, Caitlín, will be buried in St Ninnidh's Cemetery after 11am Requiem Mass in the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Their remains were released from Letterkenny General Hospital yesterday at 2pm and were taken to the home of Caitríona's mother, Winnie, at Tullaghan, four miles from Bundoran. The tragedy has stunned the communities in Bundoran and Letterkenny.
Local GP Dr James McDaid, who pronounced the two dead at their home in 14 Whitethorn Close, Letterkenny, described it as one of the saddest cases he had ever come across.
Dr McDaid said he believed Caitríona and her daughter had been dead from late on Sunday night. Caitlín made her First Communion on Saturday and was due to celebrate her eighth birthday this Sunday.
The family issued a statement yesterday through Bundoran councillor Eamon Barrett, asking the media to afford them privacy during the removal and burial.
"The family of Caitríona and Caitlín are in deep shock and struggling to come to terms with their deaths. They respectfully ask the media to allow them space to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones who have died in such tragic circumstances," the statement read.
While gardaí have refused to give details of the circumstances surrounding the deaths, it is believed Caitlín was suffocated while her mother hanged herself.
Caitríona's body was found in the hallway in the semi-detached house. Caitlín lay dead in an upstairs bedroom. Postmortems have been carried out on the bodies but gardaí said the results were not being released for operational reasons. They will not be seeking anybody in connection with the deaths. The postmortem on Caitlín is subject to toxicology results which will not be available for five to six weeks.
Dr McDaid revealed how he had called to the house on Monday evening during a canvass in the area.
"I believe the bodies were in the house from late on Sunday night. I was out canvassing in the area on Monday and had knocked at the door twice. At that stage, they were probably dead for nearly 24 hours. You never know what goes on behind closed doors. This was one of the saddest cases that I ever came across and my feelings are with the family," he said.
Dr McDaid described the scene as "one of the worst" he had seen.
"It was a terrible scene of a 26-year-old - a beautiful woman - and a beautiful young seven-year-old girl who made her Communion at the weekend. It is so sad because the mother seemed to be reasonably well-off and the child was not wanting for anything and was well looked after," Dr McDaid said.
Ms Innes worked as a secretary in McNutt Knitwear Company in Downings. She had completed business studies at Letterkenny Institute of Technology (LYIT). Her daughter attended Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál.
Work colleagues, representatives from LYIT and Scoil Mhuire Gan Smál joined family and friends at Letterkenny General Hospital for the removal.