Car bomb follows shotgun deaths

The shooting dead of one of Ireland's biggest drug dealers, Patrick Farrell, 49, found in Drogheda beside the body of his partner, Lorraine Farrell, 29, was followed yesterday by a crude car bomb attempt to blow up a taxi firm where Ms Farrell's mother worked.

Gardai said they were keeping an open mind on the two deaths, but initial reports suggest Mr Farrell, suspected of being behind a major cannabis smuggling racket, was shot dead by Ms Farrell, who was not related. She apparently then shot herself with the same borrowed double-barrelled shotgun. A suicide note was left for the dead woman's sister, Edel. Unconfirmed reports said Lorraine Farrell had also inquired about obtaining two graves in a local cemetery. Patrick Farrell, from County Armagh, left a wife and three children living in Newry, County Down, in Northern Ireland. Alan Murdoch