Gardai were last night questioning a man after a mother of three died after allegedly being struck with a poker yesterday morning.

Family members of a “lovely person” and “good mother” were last night mourning Brenda Ahearne, who died at Waterford Regional Hospital following an alleged row early yesterday morning.

“I thought I was dreaming. I couldn't believe it when I heard,” said Margaret Ahearne on hearing that her daughter was dead after sustaining a serious head injury at a house in Waterford city.

She leaves three young sons, Anthony, Thomas and Joseph.

It's understood the fatal injury was inflicted by a household poker and gardai were last night continuing to question a man at Waterford garda station.

Ms Ahearne sustained the fatal injury at her twin sister's house in the Richardson's Meadows estate in the Kilcohan area of Waterford. It is understood she had a poker embedded in her head.

A man was later arrested at the scene after the emergency services were called shortly before 2.30am yesterday.

He can be detained at the garda station until early today.

Ms Ahearne was taken by ambulance to Waterford Regional Hospital but was pronounced dead at the hospital.</>\[Brian Lovett\]A post-mortem examination was carried out yesterday afternoon by State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy while members of the Garda Technical Bureau performed an examination of the house at Richardson's Meadows.

Gardai from Waterford carried out door-to-door inquiries in the area throughout yesterday.\[s.alexander\]Moved

A native of Clonmel, Ms Ahearne had been living in Waterford for some time. She stayed with her twin sister, Lisa, at Richardson's Meadows for several months with her sons, but then moved to a house in Woodlawn Grove off the city's Cork Road.

“She wasn't working outside the home, she looked after her children full-time,” Margaret Ahearne told the Irish Independent yesterday evening at her home in Cooleen's Close, Clonmel.

“She was a good mother. She was just a lovely person.”

The family members were all close, Mrs Ahearne said, and the twin sisters were particularly devoted to each other while their brother, Anthony, was also “very close” to them.

The heartbroken mother and relatives travelled yesterday evening to Waterford to see the body as they waited for the post mortem to be completed and Brenda's remains to be released.

Another sister was looking after Brenda's three boys, aged between seven and 13.

The victim was said to have been babysitting for her twin sister, who recently had a baby girl, Saoirse, along with two other girls on Tuesday night.