The primary school student is understood to have been found dead following an emergency call to the Dublin Fire Brigade from an address at Huntstown Green in west Dublin just after 3pm on Friday.

An ambulance arrived at the scene shortly after, and the child was brought to Blanchardstown hospital where he was pronounced dead. It is believed that he had suffered from cardiac arrest.

A senior garda source told the Sunday Tribune that the boy was found with a belt around his neck, hanging from the basketball ring in his back garden. A bucket was lying nearby.

Local priest Fr Eugene McCarthy confirmed that the boy was a student at Huntstown primary school, and that Friday was his last day of the school term.

"I don't know the boy myself. I don't know the family personally, " he said. "I just know that it happened. No-one really has a handle on it yet.

"One of the other priests went to see the family, but they weren't at home. We don't have any details, but everyone is just shocked."

According to a garda source, there seemed to be nothing to indicate that the boy may have been unhappy or depressed.

"He seems to have been a normal 10year-old boy, " he said. "There aren't any indications that anything was wrong. It is an absolute tragedy. We've never seen anything like this."

The source said that Garda� will be looking at the boy's collection of video games and other personal belongings in an effort to find out what may have led to his death.

The Sunday Tribune understands that the boy had plans to go to a youth disco on Friday night to celebrate the end of term.

A spokesman for the Garda Press Office said it was not making any official comment on the case.

"We are aware that there was a sudden death, but we have nothing else to say at this time, " he said.