Five youths were remanded in custody in Co Clare tonight after being charged with rape, false imprisonment and robbery.
The four teenagers - the youngest aged 14 - and a man aged 24 were arrested following a sexual assault in the early hours of this morning.
A couple were attacked at about 4 a.m. as they sat in their car in Cratloe Woods, near Shannon.
The woman, in her mid-30s, was allegedly raped five times. Police said her partner was beaten before he was locked in the boot of a car.
He is said to be undergoing treatment for a broken arm.
The five appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court. They were denied bail and remanded in custody to appear before Kilrush District Court next Wednesday.
All five men are from Limerick. Two of the others are 15, one is 17. Two of the youths were arrested at the scene and three others detained in a house nearby.