A man has been given a suspended three-year sentence for attempting to murder his elderly mother in an attempted mercy killing, after the judge ruled his motivation was entirely compassionate.

Two gardaí, both on suspension, are being investigated on suspicion of raping women in separate incidents.

The jury in the trial of a Wicklow man accused of fatally shooting a 27-year-old father of two has been sent home for a second night having failed to reach a verdict in the Central Criminal Court.