Gardaí have arrested a man after an attempted kidnapping and robbery on the north side of Dublin this morning.

The incident began when three women were held hostage at a house in Malahide.

One of the women is understood to be a postmistress.

From there, they were driven to the post office at Bayside in Sutton by three armed and masked men.

After a short time, the raiders left the post office in a dark-coloured car with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Members of the Emergency Response Unit (ERU) were assisted by other garda units and intercepted a car on the Malahide Road.

One man in his early 20s was arrested at the scene and an amount of cash was recovered.

A number of shots were fired by gardaí at the scene. Gardaí are currently searching for two other men.

One is described as being in his late 40s/early 50s, with grey white hair, of chubby build, 5ft 10 in height - wearing dark leggings and a similar top.

The other is said to be in his late 40s/early 50s, of chubby build, with dark grey hair - wearing blue runners with a green stripe.

Both men spoke with Dublin accents. The three women were uninjured in the incident.

An incident room has been set up at Coolock  garda station - and anyone with information is asked to contact gardaí on 01-666 4200, the Garda Confidential Line at 1800-666-111 or any garda station.