Seven people were arrested and ten homes searched as part of an investigation into the activities of a criminal gang in the southeast.
The gang is suspected of being involved in armed robberies, ATM thefts, theft of plant machinery and criminal damage.
A silencer for a firearm and a scope, as well as a small number of cannabis plants, have been seized.
The seven, aged in their teens, 20s and 30s, are being questioned in Carlow, Kilkenny, Thomastown, New Ross and Thurles.
The arrests are the culmination of almost two years of investigation, surveillance and evidence-gathering.
The gang became known in the southeast as "the hole-in-the-wall gang" because heavy machinery was used to break through walls to steal safes and cash dispensers.
More than 60 gardaí were involved in the operation.
