GARDAI are continuing their investigation into the theft earlier this week of almost £800,000 worth of sportswear, including a quantity of the new Republic of Ireland football shirts.
Eight armed and masked raiders tied up security staff at a warehouse in Walkinstown, Dublin, on Tuesday night before loading three trucks with assorted sportswear, including the football shirts manufactured by Umbro. One of the security guards was beaten around the head in the course of the robbery and was later treated in hospital for bruising and shock.
The new shirts, which are predominantly orange, went on general sale this week. They retail for £39.99 in adult sizes and £29.99 in children's.
A Garda spokesman said that the stolen shirts would have been easier to track down if they we're not already in the shops. Inquiries were continuing, he said, although he declined to comment on how the stolen shirts might ultimately find their way on to the market.
One possible market, according to some within the retail sports trade, is the Macedonia Ireland match, which takes place in Macedonia next week. A spokesman for the Football Association of Ireland said that he could not see the FAI becoming involved if the shirts turned up for sale at the match. "It's a matter for the police now," he said.
A spokeswoman for Champion Sports in O'Connell Street, Dublin, where the new Irish soccer shirts have been on sale since Tuesday, said the shirts were "selling very well" and had received a very positive response from customers. She did not anticipate that the robbery, would affect sales.