A man has appeared in court in Dublin charged with the carjacking of a woman's car in Rathgar last Friday.

Francis Gavigan of Cahir Park Cottages, Ardfinnan Road, Cahir in Co. Tipperary is accused of threatening to use a taser gun and take the victim's children from her.

At around 3.40 on Friday, the woman was waiting to drive through a junction on Terenure Rd in Rathgar when she says a man got into the back seat.

Her two young children were also in the car and she told Gardai that he claimed to have a weaappearson.

She said she was ordered to drive home to pick up some bank cards before being instructed to withdraw some cash from an ATM in Rathgar.

He eventually left the car after forcing her to drive to Portobello, she said.

Francis Gavigan was brought to court today charged with false imprisonment and the robbery of €600 from his alleged victim.

The 41-year-old was refused bail and is due to appear in court again later this week.

Yesterday, a teenager appeared before the Children's Court in Dublin charged in connection with a seperate carjacking - also in the Terenure area.

And in the latest such incident, a woman travelling in a German-registered Mercedes suffered minor injuries after four men stole the car she was in after it stopped to help at the scene of a crash in Rathdrum, Co. Wicklow.