A 29-year-old man has appeared in court in connection with a raid at a shop while gardaí were inside it.

Patrick Dunne from St Jarlath Road, Cabra in Dublin was arrested following a robbery at a Centra shop at Coultry Rd in Ballymun last night.

He was held overnight and appeared at a late sitting of Dublin District Court this evening.

Garda Ronan D'Arcy told the court it was alleged the accused entered the shop at 7.10pm last night and "produced an imitation firearm, threatened staff and stole €885 in cash".

Garda D'Arcy and another garda were in the back office reviewing CCTV of a previous crime at the shop.

The detectives saw the incident take place and pursued the accused on foot and arrested him in the rear garden of a house on Coultry Drive.

Nobody was injured during the incident.

Judge Miriam Malone refused bail and remanded Mr Dunne in custody to appear again next Tuesday.