The recovery yesterday of the bodies of the two Byrne children on the Co Wexford coast has brought to 12 the number of children non-accidentally killed in the Republic so far this year. The large total of non-accidental killings of children this year is in stark contrast with previous years. Last year only one newborn baby was killed.
Before this week's deaths of Alan (10) and Shane (6) Byrne, who were killed when their father apparently drove the family car off Duncannon Pier, 10 other children have been killed. The boys' father, Stephen, was still missing yesterday.
On September 22nd, a Wicklow boy, Jonathan Kelly (12), was stabbed in the back after a row. A nine-year-old from the town has been questioned by gardai.
On July 23rd, Adam Lieghio (18 months), from Buttercup Park, Darndale, Dublin, died in a fire at his home. It is believed a petrol bomb was thrown into the house where he was sleeping. A man has been charged with murder.
On July 6th, Nicole Byrne (5), from Cromcastle Drive, Coolock, Dublin, was found dead in the front room of her home by her 11year-old brother. She had been strangled. A man has been charged with her murder.
On June 5th, Oisin Reilly Murphy (18 months), from Kiltalawn Road, Jobstown, Dublin, was found dead by his mother. He had a stab wound to the neck. Again, a man has been charged with his murder.
On April 30th, Leilah Hickey (3 months) was stabbed to death at her home in Newbridge, Co Kildare. Her mother, Sinead Smullen (18), was also stabbed but survived. Gardai have charged a man with murder.
On March 5th, in an incident bearing similarities to the deaths of the two Byrne children, Jennifer Palmer (8) and her sister, Louisa (6), were both drowned when their mother, Catherine, drove off the pier at Kinvarra, Co Galway. The mother also died.
On March 1st, Jack Brennan (18 months) was taken from his cot and strangled. A rope was put around his neck and attached to a rock. He was then thrown into a quarry near the Boyne viaduct at Drogheda, Co Louth. A man with a history of psychiatric illness has been charged and is in custody.
During the year, the bodies of two newborn babies who were abandoned shortly after birth were also recovered by gardai.
On August 7th, the body of a full-term, stillborn baby boy was found by two English tourists on the strand at Cahirciveen, Co Kerry. The baby had been buried in the sand some time in the previous weeks. And on March 13th, another newborn baby's body was found on waste ground in Rylane, Co Cork. It is believed that it may have been there for a few days. The baby's mother came forward.
Last December 23rd, the body of a baby boy was found in a field beside the Cois Carrig housing estate in Roscrea, Co Tipperary. His mother came forward some time later.
Although there is no apparent connection or reason for the increase in non-accidental killings of children there is reported evidence of increasing domestic abuse of children.
Dr Peter Keenan, of Temple Street Hospital, told The Irish Times last month that he was seeing increasing numbers of serious assaults on children.
Additional research by Sharon Hutchinson