Gardai seek man believed to have carried out six armed bank robberies in fortnight

Gardai were "inundated" with calls last night after releasing video footage of a man they believe is responsible for six armed bank robberies in Dublin in the last fortnight in which more than £12,000 has been stolen.

The man was caught clearly on security cameras and on two occasions in the last two weeks he was seen robbing two financial institutions on the same day. In each of the robberies the man walked in calmly without a mask and produced a gun, before filling a plastic bag with money and walking away.

He is described as well-dressed and clean-shaven in his 20s, 5' 10" with short dark hair. Some bank staff described him as having a slight Northern Ireland accent, but others said it was "softish Dublin".

Gardai said last night they were optimistic of making a breakthrough. "We have been inundated by viewers who think they know the man, and each call is being followed up." The first two of the robberies were carried out on November 6th when the man approached cashiers in Clontarf Post Office with what appeared to be a revolver. The Clontarf robbery was not included in the list released last night, but a senior Garda source said it was believed that the same man was responsible. At 2.45 p.m. on the same day as the Clontarf robbery the man walked into the EBS building society on Morehampton Road in Donnybrook. He threatened three staff with the gun and escaped with £600 in a plastic bag.

Three days later he walked into the Bank of Ireland on St Stephen's Green and waited in line for the foreign exchange around 1.25 p.m. When he reached the top of the queue he handed a white plastic bag to the bank teller to fill and pulled the gun out of his jacket. He walked out with £760.

Just 35 minutes after the St Stephen's Green robbery he walked into the Ulster Bank on Shelbourne Road, produced the gun and demanded the cashier empty the cash drawer. He walked out with £2,500.

Two days later, on November 11th, he joined queues of people at the Ulster Bank in Malahide. He bought £20 in sterling at around 12.55 p.m. and left the bank. But he returned at 1.16 p.m. and vaulted the counter, escaping with £6,000.

His last known robbery was on Monday at the Ulster Bank in Dun Laoghaire. He walked through the shopping centre on Georges Street and approached a teller who was counting cash. He pulled the gun and walked out with £2,600, dropping a £20 note behind him. "He looked up at the camera as he left," a Garda source said, "and he walked calmly out the door, keeping the gun on the staff as he left."