Three armed raiders locked up a member of staff at a Dublin golf course for more than five hours early yesterday morning.
The staff member, believed to be in his late 50s, was locking up the premises at the Elm Park Golf Club, Donnybrook, shortly after 1 a.m. when the raiders, who were armed with a handgun, attacked him.
He was forced to reopen the premises and the raiders then locked him in a cupboard before escaping with an undisclosed sum of money.
Gardaí are unsure if any other items were taken during the raid but said statements were being taken throughout yesterday in relation to this. The raiders were wearing balaclavas.
The alarm was raised by the staff member's family who were concerned when he failed to return home.
He was freed shortly after 6 a.m. yesterday and was taken to nearby St Vincent's Hospital as a precaution. He was released a short time later.
A Garda spokeswoman said: "As a matter of precaution the member of staff was taken to hospital. He didn't sustain any physical injuries as a result of the raid but was understandably shaken by the incident."
The scene was preserved for technical examination and gardaí at Donnybrook are conducting the investigation. As of last night, gardaí said they had no leads in the case and were appealing to the public with any information to come forward.
No one from the golf club was last night available for comment.