Three children found dead in house named as brothers and sister

The children were discovered in a house in Parson’s Court, in the village of Newcastle, which is south-west of Dublin city, on Friday night.

A woman found at the scene, believed to be the children’s mother, was taken to hospital following the incident. Gardai have confirmed she is a relative.

The bodies of Conor, nine, Darragh, seven, and Carla, three, were removed from the semi-detached home by ambulance at around 10am on Saturday.

Gardai said a family liaison officer was in contact with their father Andrew McGinley and the extended family.

Mr McGinley has released a photo of himself with his three children.

Irish police continue to treat the sudden deaths as “unexplained” pending the outcome of post-mortem examinations on Saturday afternoon.

It is understood it was not immediately obvious to officers how the children had died when they attended the scene.

It is also understood gardai are not looking for anyone else in relation to the incident.

Garda forensic officers were continuing to conduct examinations inside the semi-detached house on Saturday.

Neighbours, including parents with young children, attended the house throughout the morning leaving flowers at the door of the home which was guarded by a number of officers as forensic investigators continued inside.

Children’s toys could be seen in the windows of the house.

Many women could be seen in tears as they attended the scene, which has been described as “a very quiet street” and popular with young families.

One woman said the small community is in “absolute shock”, and many attended a local mass service on Saturday morning.

Councillor for the area Emer Higgins described the events as an “unimaginable tragedy”.

“My thoughts are with everybody impacted,” said the Fine Gael representative.

“This is a really tight-knit community, it’s a small area, it’s a quiet area, and it’s just unthinkable that something like this could be happening on our doorstep.

“It’s so tragic. It’s unbelievable that three young people’s lives could be cut short like that, in what seems to be a particularly tragic case.”

A Garda incident room has been set up in Clondalkin Garda Station and gardai have appealed for anyone with information to come forward.