The body of a baby discovered partially buried in sand at Rossbeigh on Sunday afternoon is that of a full-term baby boy, a post-mortem examination at Tralee General Hospital revealed yesterday.
Two English tourists discovered the baby's body around 3 p.m. while walking in the back strand at Rossbeigh in a site close to an area known as The Point.
The body was discovered in a tidal area midway between the shoreline and sand dunes.
The post-mortem examination was carried out by the Assistant State Pathologist, Dr Marie Cassidy.
The baby boy was stillborn and gardai are not treating his death as suspicious. Supt Eddie Quirke of Cahirciveen yesterday renewed his appeal to the mother of the baby to come forward.
"Our main concern now is with the health of the mother who has suffered the trauma of a stillbirth."
An incident room at Cahirciveen Garda station has been set up and the mother is asked to contact Supt Quirke personally at 066 9472111.
Counselling as well as medical treatment will be provided.
The area where the baby was discovered, known as the back strand area, is popular with campers and people in caravans.
"The back strand attracts a significant transient population during the summer," Supt Quirke said, adding that the baby may not necessarily be that of a local person.
The post-mortem revealed that the child was normal weight. However, it was not possible to say from yesterday's examination exactly how long the baby had been in the sand.
The baby's body was "well wrapped" in towels, gardai said, and this as well as the temperature of the water meant decomposition was not as quick as on dry land.
Locally, the discovery has brought to mind events of April 1984 in Kerry and the body of an infant washed up at nearby White Strand in Cahirciveen, about 20 miles from Rossbeigh.
That discovery in 1984 led to an 82-day High Court tribunal in 1985 and what became known as the Kerry Babies' case.
Yesterday, the chairman of the Southern Health Board, Cllr Michael Cahill (FF), who owns the Ross Inn at the other end of Rossbeigh beach from where the baby boy's body was discovered, said: "There is an air of sadness and shock around the area. It is a very sensitive case and the concern now is for the mother."