Criminals began stocking up on the new euro currency within hours of it becoming legal tender, with raids on banks in Limerick and Tipperary.
The first raid was on the Allied Irish Bank branch in Castletroy, Co Limerick, at 7.45 p.m. on New Year's Day, when two masked men armed with sawn-off shot- guns entered the bank through a rear window.
The second was also on a branch of the AIB, this time in Borrisokane, Co Tipperary, just before 11 a.m. yesterday. Two men armed with a hammer and knife vaulted the counter and took an undisclosed amount of euro.
In Castletroy, the bank's ATM was out of order at the time of the raid, having been blocked with a glue-like substance. Two staff members repairing it were threatened, ordered to lie on the ground and were tied up but not injured by the raiders.
Garda Supt Tony Kennelly of Henry Street Garda station, who is leading the investigation, said there was "a strong possibility" the blocking of the ATM and the robbery were connected.
The amount of euro notes taken has not yet been established but it is understood to be substantial.
The raiders are described as being more than six feet tall and of strong/heavy build. They spoke with local accents, Supt Kennelly said. He appealed to anyone who may have seen anything suspicious in the vicinity of the bank between midday on December 26th and 8.30 p.m. on New Year's Day to contact the Garda at Henry Street on (061) 212400 or any Garda station.
Supt Jim Fitzgerald, who is leading the investigation into the Borrisokane raid, said the staff were shocked but weren't injured.
Three men, believed to be in their late teens or early 20s, were involved and they spoke with Dublin accents.