A teenage boy whose body was found just outside Galway city today may have died as a result of hypothermia.
The body of Cian Comerford (16) was discovered in a field at Coolough near Menlo village early this morning after he was reported missing at the weekend.
The secondary school student, who lived in Knocknacarra, Galway, attended a party at a house in Menlo on Saturday night.
It is understood that he left the gathering, described as a toga party, sometime after midnight. His family became concerned when he did not arrive home and could not be contacted by phone.
An extensive search was initiated, and his body was found in a field close to the Church of St Peter and St Paul at Coolough. He was pronounced dead at the scene shortly after 8am.
It is believed that he may have been trying to take a shortcut onto a road through some very wet and marshy ground close to the river Corrib, and may have fallen in the darkness.
Gardai said there were no suspicious circumstances.
A post mortem was due to be carried out on the young man's body at Galway University Hospital, and hypothermia will be examined as one possibility.