Gardaí have arrested a man aged in his 40s as part of the investigation into the death of 21-year-old Marguerita Sheridan in Rathkeale, Co Limerick, on Saturday.
A van believed to have been involved in the incident has also been recovered by gardaí and will be subject to a technical examination.
The suspect was being detained on Monday evening under section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984, at a Garda station in Co Limerick.
Ms Sheridan died after a silver Ford Transit ploughed into a set of gates at which she was standing at about 12.15pm on Saturday. The driver did not stop to render assistance and fled the scene.
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Gardaí are investigating whether Ms Sheridan was struck deliberately as part of a feud between two factions of a large family.
It is unclear whether the individual intended to kill or seriously harm Ms Sheridan. It is believed the van hit a set of gates that then struck the young woman, pinning her to the wall. The investigation has yet to be upgraded to a murder inquiry.
Ms Sheridan gave birth to her first child, a son, three weeks ago.
A postmortem was conducted by State Pathologist Sally Anne Collis. However, gardaí said the autopsy results were “not being released for operational reasons”.
Ms Sheridan’s body was released to her family on Monday evening for arrangements regarding her funeral.
Ms Sheridan’s friends described her as a “beautiful, intelligent young lady”, saying her death was “every mother and father’s worst nightmare”.
John Sheridan, father of the deceased, posted a video of his late daughter on social media, showing her preparing for her recent wedding day, along with a caption that read: “Rest in Peace Marguerita. Heaven has a special place for you sweet angel.”
Local Fine Gael Cllr and family friend Adam Teskey described the Sheridan family as “extremely well-respected people in the Rathkeale community”.
Cllr Teskey said the town was “numb with sadness” and he asked the local community to “provide its full support to An Garda Síochána”.
Gardaí continue to appeal for witnesses to come forward.
Any road users or pedestrians who may have camera footage (including dashcam) and were in the Rathkeale area in Co. Limerick between 11.30am and 1.00pm are asked to make this footage available to investigating officers.
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Rathkeale Garda station on 069-63222, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800-666111 or any Garda station.
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