A post-mortem on the body of a three-month-old girl who died in a dog attack at her home in Waterford will be carried out place later today.

It happened in the village of Clashmore in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Emergency services were called to the house shortly after 2am and the baby was treated at the scene before being taken to Cork University Hospital where she was pronounced dead.

The Mayor of Waterford City and County Damien Geoghegan said the people of Clashmore are shocked.

“The garda investigation is ongoing and we will leave that take its course,” he said.

“Our sympathies are certainly with the family and friends and neighbours and everybody in Cashmore. To have such a tragedy arrive on their doorstep, it is too awful for words and it is very hard to comprehend.

“For a very young child to die in such tragic circumstances; it is certainly awful.”

He said the community will rally around the family in the coming weeks.

“There is a fantastic community spirit there and everybody in Cashmore is really upset with what has happened,” he said.

Local Fine Gael Councillor Pat Nugent said people in the area are in shock.

“People are just numb,” he said. “They just don’t know what to say.

They don’t know … they can’t talk about it even. Such a tragic accident to happen.”

He said the family moved to the area around four years ago and called on the community to support them as much as possible.

“It is awful important that the community would rally together for them in the immediate future and in the months ahead,” he said.

The Garda investigation is ongoing.

A file will likely be sent to the Coroner’s Court ahead of any inquest.