Gardaí are investigating a vicious gang rape in Co Limerick in which a woman was brutally assaulted by three men.
The horrific attack took place in the small town of Kilmallock last Monday night, where a woman in her forties was raped by three young men in her home.
The violent assault took place between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. in an apartment in Dowling's Cross in the town.
Four young men aged between 17 and 25 broke into the woman's home and three of them raped her while a fourth pleaded with them to stop, according to gardaí.
The victim, who is a non-national, received several bruises in the attack, which only came to the gardaí's attention after she had gone to a medical centre the next day for treatment.
It's understood staff at the centre alerted the gardaí after seeing the woman's injuries.
The victim was also treated in St John's Hospital in Limerick city and was further examined at the sexual assault unit of the South Infirmary in Cork.
"This is a very serious incident and anyone that has been attacked and raped by three men has suffered a terrifying and traumatic experience," said Supt Michael O'Keefe, from Bruff Garda station in Co Limerick.
"We are following a definite line of inquiry and we would appeal to anyone who was in the Dowling's Cross area on Monday night and who might have seen anything suspicious to contact us," he added.
One of the woman's attackers is described as tall and thin with blonde hair and pocked skin. The second youth is aged between 17 and 18 and is also tall, with spiked black hair. The third assailant is said to be aged 19, with shaved hair and a strong build.