A man arrested for the murder of his ex-wife after a near eight-hour stand-off with gardai remains under armed guard in hospital.

The man suspected of murdering mother Patricia Kierans shot her shortly after she arrived home, before going on a drinking binge leading to an eight-hour siege in Bailieborough, Co Cavan.

Gardaí are to due launch a murder investigation, following the discovery of a 54-year-old woman's body in Co Cavan.

A man seen fleeing the scene of a near-fatal shooting in Limerick two years ago has been identified by several of his neighbours.