Henry St - Limerick Suspected Real IRA members questioned
The two men, aged 33 and 35, are both from Limerick.
It is understood they were travelling by car in the Ballysimon area when they were stopped and questioned following a garda surveillance operation.
The car was searched and a package believed to contain arms was seized.
That has been examined by ballistics experts at Garda headquarters in Dublin and was found to contain a 303 rifle and 23 rounds of ammunition.
The two men are being questioned at Henry street Garda station in Limerick under section 30 of the Offences against the State Act.
They can be held initially for 24 hours, extended to 48 hours if necessary.
One of the men has served a six-year jail term for his part in an armed robbery on a jewellery shop in Limerick back in 1986, in which another person was shot.
