Friends and neighbours baffled by horrific tragedy

MYSTERY still surrounds last weekend’s horrific events that led Dublin mother Mary Keegan to kill her two children before taking her own life.

Friends and neighbours of the part-time bank official yesterday remained baffled as to why Ms Keegan fatally attacked her two young sons Glen, aged 10, and Andrew, aged six in the kitchen of the family home at Killakee Walk in the south Dublin suburb of Firhouse.

Post-mortem tests carried out at Tallaght Hospital last evening confirmed all three had died as a result of stab wounds inflicted by a knife.

Garda sources revealed the extent of bloodstains discovered in the kitchen of the semi-detached home indicated the two boys had put up a struggle before meeting their death.

"The wounds on the two boys were pretty extensive," said one detective who worked on the investigation.

Members of the Garda Technical Bureau continued to carry out an examination of the house throughout yesterday as they searched for any vital clues that would help piece together the sequence of events which led to the terrible tragedy.

A garda spokesperson confirmed no one else was being sought in relation to the killings following the discovery of the bodies on Monday morning.

It has also emerged no suicide note was left in the house by the former beautician which might have offered some explanation for her actions.

Results of the post-mortem examination carried out by deputy State pathologist Dr Michael Curtis indicated Ms Keegan slit her own wrists.

Other stab wounds were also found in the area of her neck.

It is understood Ms Keegan's husband, Brian, is staying with other family members in the Rathfarnham area where both he and his wife were raised as children.

He alerted gardaí to the potential tragedy after being unable to open the front door of the house after returning from a business trip to the US on Monday.

Plain-clothed detectives from Tallaght also carried out door-to-door inquiries with neighbours of the Keegans on the quiet cul-de-sac.

Several bouquets of flowers had been placed by sympathisers outside the family's neat, two-storey home, which remained fenced off by a garda cordon.

Fewer passersby also stopped at the scene than the previous day as local residents remained tight-lipped when approached by reporters after a clearer picture of the tragedy emerged over the previous 36 hours.

"It's hard to even imagine what must have been going through Mary's mind," said one neighbour who knew the dead woman. "It's still difficult to come to terms with it."

Nobody was willing to comment on rumours that Ms Keegan had suffered from mild depression.

However, it is understood the dead woman's medical advisers will be among those questioned by gardaí over coming days.

Mr Keegan will also be asked in more detail about his wife's condition when he meets with detectives later this week.

Yesterday afternoon, his commercial van was removed from outside the home by a colleague.

The bodies of Ms Keegan and her two children were formally released to relatives last night.

Funeral arrangements are expected to be finalised later today.

Classmates of both Glen and Andrew from two local schools have offered to form a guard of honour at their requiem service.