Detectives from Pearse St Garda station in Dublin are investigating the alleged rape of a 17-year-old student in the early hours yesterday at a pub in the city centre.
The alleged rape of the teenage girl in the George, a popular gay bar and bistro, on South Great George's Street - where she was drinking with a female friend - occurred just after 3 a.m., when she went to the washroom.
The distraught victim told detectives who are investigating the incident that a man came up from behind, attacked and raped her while she was in the toilet.
She was taken in a distressed state to the sexual assault unit of the Rotunda hospital for treatment and examination and is still recovering in hospital.
Recordings from video cameras inside the building may help to identify the attacker. It is understood that the girl, a student from the midlands, had spent the day looking for accommodation with a friend, having come up from the country yesterday.
She and the friend spent the evening in Temple Bar before going on to the George.
The pub was sealed off for several hours yesterday while the scene was being examined by the Garda Technical Bureau for forensic evidence.
Detectives have interviewed staff and some of the customers who were there in the early hours of yesterday.
Although best known as a male night-spot, the George is not exclusively a gay establishment, a senior detective emphasised.
They were keeping an open mind at this stage, he added.