Rustic Stone armed raiders sought

Gardaí ­ have released descriptions of the two suspects they are seeking after the armed raid at Dylan McGrath’s Rustic Stone…

Gardaí ­ have released descriptions of the two suspects they are seeking after the armed raid at Dylan McGrath’s Rustic Stone restaurant on Sunday night.

The two men threatened eight members of staff with a knife and gun before escaping €10,000 in cash.

The first man, who is believed to be between 30 to 40 years old, has a heavy build and is around 175 centimetres (5 feet 9 inches) in height with a Dublin accent. On Sunday night, he was wearing white Addidas runners with black stripes, black bottoms, a navy Addidas tracksuit top with white stripes on the sleeves and a monkey hat.

The second man is very thin and gaunt. He is believed to be between 165 and 170 centimetres in height (5 feet 5 inches to 5 feet 7 inches). During the raid, he was wearing a grey Addidas tracksuit top with dark stripes, grey tracksuit bottoms, light coloured runners and a black monkey hat.

Gardaí ­ are looking to talk to anyone who was in the Dame Street, South Great George's Street, Exchequer Street, Wicklow Street, Andrew Street or Trinity Street areas of Dublin 2 between 11pm and midnight and who saw two men wearing high visibility jackets with two bicycles.

They would also like to talk to taxi drivers who may have collected two men fitting the suspects' descriptions in the area. Anyone who noticed a car either parked or moving around the time of the raid, they are also asked to contact authorities at Pearse Street Garda Station on 01 6669000 or on the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Following the incident, Mr McGrath said that it was a terrible ordeal for the staff to go through.

"I am thankful that no one was injured, but upset that my hard working team were subjected to this treatment last night," he said.

"Myself and my business partners have worked really hard to make Rustic Stone a commercial success in this tough recession, and we will not be deterred by this incident."