A Rubens masterpiece stolen by the notorious Dublin crime figure Martin Cahill 16 years ago was recovered after gardaí received a tip-off.
The 17th century portrait, Head of a Man by the Flemish painter was found on Tuesday in a house on Dublin's northside by officers from the Garda Arts and Antiques unit.
All but two of the 18 paintings stolen by Martin Cahill in 1986 at Russborough House, Co Wicklow, have now been retrieved. It is understood the tip-off came from a criminal contact. No arrests have been made.
The Rubens has been returned to the Beit Foundation, curators of the Russborough collection. Cahill, better known as "the General", was widely regarded as Dublin's most powerful and notorious crime lord until the IRA assassinated him in 1994. In May 1986, he led a 13-strong gang on the raid, while the Beit family was away. The 18 paintings stolen - conservatively valued at €35 million - included Vermeer's Lady Writing a Letter.
However, the collection's fame made it difficult for thieves to sell it on, even on the international market. Several paintings were discovered near Russborough the day after the Cahill raid.
The companion to Metsu's Young Man Writing a Letter was found in Istanbul in 1990, the Gainsborough Portrait of Madame Bacelli Dancing surfaced in London two years later, and in September 1993, four of the most valuable items were retrieved in Belgium.
Russborough House has been targeted three times by criminals drawn by the collection established by the late Sir Alfred Beit, a South African diamond magnate who moved to Ireland in the 1950s. In 1974, an IRA gang, including British heiress Rose Dugdale, stole 19 paintings, which were found in Cork shortly afterwards. Two paintings taken in a daylight raid in June last year have yet to be located.
Mr William Finlay, chairman of the Beit Foundation, said the Rubens had been restored to them "in very good condition". Mr Raymond Keaveney, director of the National Gallery of Ireland, said the painting was in excellent condition and "could almost be put on display tomorrow".