Police have arrested a man in connection to the stabbing to death of a woman, her friend and two children earlier this afternoon in Newcastle West, Limerick.

The man in his 30’s is now being held in Henry Street police station in Limerick City. The police from Limerick and Clare had been searching for the man after he went missing before 2pm on Tuesday afternoon.

The children are now believed to be a three-year-old boy and a girl of just five months. They were found upstairs in the house in the Hazel Grove estate. Their mother and her friend were found downstairs. They were all stabbed to death.

Chairman of Limerick County Council, Richard Butler has said “No words can adequately describe the tragedy that has befallen the people of Newcastle West…Today is a black day for the people of Newcastle West and I would call on the people of County Limerick and, indeed, the rest of the country to pray for the loved ones of those whose lives have been so tragically cut short.”

Also this morning in Cork two young girls, aged six and two, were found dead in their home in Ballycotton, East Cork. Shortly afterwards their father was killed in a single-vehicle car accident. His car had crashed into a tree and burst into flames just one mile from his home. The State Pathologist and the police are examining their deaths.