A Clare TD has been speaking about his attempt to chase after a handbag thief.

Deputy Timmy Dooley secured the return of the bag to its owner - after first blocking the man with his car and then following on foot.

Gardaí say the incident occurred at about noon today on O'Connell Street in Ennis.

Deputy Dooley tweeted about the incident shortly after, saying he hadn’t apprehended the thief but had retrieved the handbag.

Just gave chase to a hooded man who robbed a lady's handbag in Ennis - got the bag but he got away #partialresult

— Timmy Dooley TD (@timmydooley) March 6, 2015

Speaking to Clare FM this evening, Deputy Dooley said it is the first time he has witnessed an incident like this and he felt he was doing the right thing by intervening.

“I was just on the way back to the office, coming down the Clare road,” he said.

Dooley tracked the man in his car first, before continuing the pursuit on foot.

“I noticed a young fella with a black jacket and a hood wrapped tightly around his head and brown women’s leather bag in his hand. (He was) kind of running so I assumed that it had been taken.

“I managed to get ahead of him in the car, pulled in and confronted him. He turned around and ran from me and I gave chase. He dropped the bag as I was about to catch him,” he said.