Gardai have released "compu-fits" of two men they wish to question about suspicious approaches to children in Co Clare in recent months.
Insp Michael Gallagher, of Ennis Garda station, who is heading the inquiry, said the computer-generated photographs were produced with the help of a local man who saw two men in a jeep approach a child in the west Clare village of Doonbeg.
The approaches took place between August 1998 and May 1999 to children aged between six and 14. No children were abducted or injured, though Insp Gallagher said there was understandably great apprehension in the community.
Two men in their late 50s with addresses in Britain were arrested last week when their jeep was stopped at a Garda checkpoint in Charleville, Co Clare. They were interviewed and released without charge.
Clare gardai have advised parents to know where their children are at all times.
"They should take whatever steps are necessary to ensure that their children are always accompanied. Under no circumstances should they be left to walk home alone from school, no matter how short the walk may be."
There have been nine incidents of children being approached in Co Clare since August. On Tuesday, May 28th, two men in a jeep pulled up beside a young girl and tried to get her into the vehicle. She managed to run away.
Later, in Doonbeg, men fitting a similar description asked a seven-year-old boy for directions to the Garda station so that they could report a burglary. The boy ran away.
Gardai in Mayo also warned parents to be vigilant last month following two reports of attempted abductions of children in the Leenane and Westport areas. In the past year, there have been more than 500 reports of attempted abductions, mainly of young girls and mainly in rural areas.