The children of a Co Louth couple who died in a murder-suicide in 2015 have said Ireland is "rampant" with mental health issues, which "should not be ignored".

In a statement issued after the inquests into the deaths of Jim and Marie Quigley, which were held today, their children said they live with "this tragedy every minute of every day".

Marie Quigley was found dead in her bedroom and her husband died in a road crash on the M1 in July 2015.

It is believed that Mr Quigley murdered his wife before taking his own life.

Dundalk Coroner's Court heard that their son Kieran had a bad feeling when his dad did not turn up to meet him at the DOE test centre in Dundalk about 2.45pm on 27 July 2015.

He rang both their phones but no one answered, so he went to the family home at Newtownbalregan outside Dundalk. He later told gardaí he thought his father may have had a heart attack.

When he arrived at the house he saw the blinds were down in his parents' bedrooms; his mother was an early riser and always pulled up her blind.

The back door was locked so he opened the front door and went upstairs.

His father's bedroom was empty but his mother's door was locked. He rang her phone and could hear it ringing out in the locked room.

He said he called the emergency services and also called other family members. His uncle and cousin arrived and the three of them broke open the door.

Kieran later told gardaí it was "the most devastating moment in my life".

State Pathologist Dr Marie Cassidy performed a post-mortem examination and said Mrs Quigley had been the victim of a violent attack while in bed.

The inquest heard that Jim Quigley had died on the motorway south of Dundalk.

The jury returned a verdict of unlawful killing for Mrs Quigley and an open verdict on her husband.

Gardaí, the coroner and jury expressed their sympathies to the families.

In a statement issued through their solicitor, the Quigley children Kieran, Sonya, Mark and Gavin said: "The sense of losing both parents is overwhelming and we are living with this tragedy every minute of every day. We can only pray time will ease the heartache and heal our souls."

"We hope people can understand what we have been through and hope that when today concludes, that our grieving can progress and we ask the media to respect our privacy."

They added: "We lived with our father's mental illness all our lives. In recent years our father had some major physical problems and coupled with the enormous medication along with his mental health problems, we now know he was beyond helping.

"Jim was a loving father and husband, and Marie, a dearly loved and devoted wife and mother who supported Jim throughout his illness and that is why she isn't here today.

"Mental health is a form of disease which is sometimes not visibly noticeable and which this country is rampant with, but it should not be ignored."