The three people found dead on Monday evening after a house fire near Ardfert, Co Kerry, were named yesterday, and their bodies removed to Tralee General Hospital for post-mortem examination.
They were Mr James Harty (32), from Ballyheigue, his friend Ms Sheila Stack (27), originally from Lixnaw, and her five-year-old son Gavin.
They died in a farmhouse on a minor rural road at Parknagearagh at some time between the early hours of Sunday morning and 5 p.m. on Monday, when their bodies were discovered.
The cause of the fire has still not been determined. Forensic examinations were carried out on the two-storey farmhouse.
Examinations were carried out by Dr Margot Bolster, the assistant State pathologist. While the results were not available last night, the deaths are believed to have been due to smoke inhalation.
All of the double-glazed windows in the house were closed when gardaí arrived on the scene.
Gardaí cut a hole in the door glass to enter the house after relatives of the two dead people became concerned that they had failed to contact them.
Ms Stack and Mr Harty were last seen by the child's baby-sitter at 4 a.m. on Sunday, when they returned to the rented farmhouse after a night spent in Tralee socialising.
Ms Stack and Mr Harty were found dead in the sitting room, while the boy was found dead in an upstairs bedroom.
It appears the dead man was trying to make his way to the sitting room door when overcome.
The dead adults were well-known in Tralee and in rural north Kerry. Mr Harty farmed the family holding in Ballyheigue, and was the winner of several agricultural prizes for his Friesian bulls.
He was well regarded in the tight-knit farming circles in the Kilmoyley, Abbeydorney, Causeway area that is the heart of north Kerry dairy farming.
Ms Stack worked in a butcher's shop in Tralee. Her employer, Mr David Healy, yesterday spoke of his customers' deep sadness at the news of her death.
The late Ms Stack had been "incredibly popular", and "a bit of a comedian in the shop". He said everyone liked her, and she had a great personality.
A former work colleague, who now works at the Lerrig Quick Pick shop attached to the Kilmoyley post office, said the news of Ms Stack's death had not quite sunk in.
"She was great, a lovely girl, full of life. It's a major shock to me and to people in the area. It must be unreal for the family," Mr Tim O'Halloran said.
Locals said Ms Stack was a "sociable person", and deeply attached to her young son, who attended school in Lixnaw.