A four-year-old boy and his one-and-a-half-year-old sister were described as being in a ‘horrific’ condition when gardaí first saw them in a taxi and their mother appeared to be “out of it”.

Two men caught with loaded handguns and a can of petrol with “an intent to endanger life” following a large-scale garda operation will be sentenced next week.

A man who got a six-year driving ban on the day he led gardaí on a high-speed car chase has been jailed for three years by Judge John O'Hagan at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.