A man shot his girlfriend in the head then killed himself during a gunfight with police after a two-day, cross-state crime spree in which they allegedly stabbed an elderly widower to death and stole two cars and a gun, police have said.

A three-man gang of burglars have been sentenced to a total of 14 and a half years in prison after a carrying out a terrifying seven-and-a-half hour crime spree targeting homes in rural Co Limerick.