Gardai say a cause of death has not yet been established following a post-mortem on the bodies of a man and a woman found at a farmhouse in Askeaton, County Limerick.

They say that further testing is now required - and this may take some days.

Detectives also say the bodies have yet to be positively identified.

However, the have been named locally as 56-year-old Thomas Ruttle and 65-year-old Julia Holmes.

The bodies were discovered in an upstairs bedroom after Gardai recived a tip off in the early hours of this morning.

Holmes is currently wanted by the FBI, the PSNI and Gardai for a series of alleged frauds.

Gardai say they hope to confirm the identities of the man and woman following post mortems later this evening.

Julia Holmes (63) was originally from Co. Down.

She was found dead alongside a man in the upstairs bedroom of a farmhouse at Boolaglass, near Askeaton.

The scene has been sealed off and post mortems will be carried out by the state pathologists office in the coming hours.

According to gardaí, Ms Holmes had been renting the house from a local farmer.

Ms Holmes and the owner of the house - named locally as Thomas Ruttle - have not been seen for the past few weeks.

Gardaí said because of the condition of the remains, they could not confirm if they are those of the missing pair.

It is understood a gun was found in the bedroom near the bodies, but gardaí said they could not at this stage confirm how they died.

Julia Holmes is wanted by the PSNI and the FBI for alleged frauds.

Crime correspondent with The Sunday Times, John Mooney, told Newstalk Lunchtime the woman had not been seen alive for a number of months.