The toddler died after he got caught up in the blinds at his home in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, just before 3pm yesterday.

The previous day an 18-month-old child died while at a creche in another part of the county, which is also being investigated by the gardaí.

Gardaí said the two-year-old boy’s mother and a woman babysitter were in the house at Carrigtwohill when the latest tragedy occurred.

The child had been put upstairs for a nap and after a short time the women went to check on him.

They discovered him entangled in the blinds and, according to gardaí, rushed him to Cork University Hospital (CUH).

He was pronounced dead a short time later at the hospital.

Supt Pat Sheahan, who is leading the investigation, said the toddler’s death appeared to be a freak accident.

"This is a tragic accident and all of our thoughts are with the family at this time. It is indeed very sad for them," he said.

Gardaí went to the scene as part of their investigation and carried out a routine examination.

The family and babysitter were said to be extremely distraught.

Supt Sheahan said a postmortem would be carried out on the boy’s remains at CUH today.

Meanwhile, in a separate tragedy, gardaí are awaiting the results of further tests following the postmortem examination on an 18-month-old boy who died in a creche earlier this week.

The only child was buried in east Cork yesterday. It is believed he died of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) on Monday.

The HSE confirmed it is not investigating the creche where the incident took place. This creche was registered with the HSE.

A HSE source said they would only investigate if the gardaí felt an investigation was warranted and this had not been suggested.

Gardaí were called to the creche after the alarm was raised. A local GP was also contacted to attend the premises.

The baby was pronounced dead upon his arrival at CUH.

Locals said the creche’s owner was "devastated" at the child’s death and the creche had been closed all week as a mark of respect to the local family.

Calls to the creche again yesterday failed to make contact with anyone. The HSE last night strongly defended its decision not to immediately examine the events leading up to the child’s death.

"The HSE is not conducting any investigation at this time. It regularly conducts scheduled and unscheduled inspections of all registered preschool facilities," said a spokesman.



Heute morgen hatte ich ein Gespräch mit Gillian; sie meinte zu mir, ihrer Familie sei es jetzt wichtig, unter sich zu sein, zu viert, um alles zu bearbeiten. Sie fragte mich nach einem Rückflugticket... ich weiß momentan überhaupt nicht, was ich mache, werde aber jetzt gleich schlafen gehen und morgen darüber nachdenken. Für mich ist die Au-Pair Zeit fürs Erste zunächsteinmal beendet.