Two men have been arrested in connection with attempting to rob Sean Óg’s Hotel in Kilmuckridge, Co Wexford early this morning.
The men, in their 20s, were arrested in a car park in Courtown this evening.
Gardaí believe the men are part of a gang who carried out an armed raid on a post office in Oulart, Co Wexford in which a postmistress and her son were shot a few hours later.
The woman and her son are being treated in hospital after being shot during the raid.
The 66-year-old postmistress was hit in the arm, while her 31-year-old son suffered a gunshot wound to the leg.
Both were taken to Wexford General Hospital where their injuries were described as not life-threatening.
A masked gang broke into Sean Óg's Hotel in Kilmuckridge shortly after 4am, tied up the night porter and threatened him at gunpoint.
They fled empty-handed after they were unable to obtain any cash. The night porter, who is in his 40s, was said to be badly shaken by the ordeal.
Investigators believe the same gang then turned up at the post office in Oulart - about 9km away - at around 10am and demanded cash.
They are trying to establish why shots were fired, first at the postmistress behind the counter and then at her son as he came through a back door.
An elderly woman customer who was in the post office at the time of the hold-up escaped uninjured.
The gang made off with a small sum of money, believed to be a few hundred euro.
Two cars were found burnt out, one a few kilometres away from the post office and another at Gorey, 23km away.
Additional reporting PA