DUBLIN: Gardai were forced to step up their strict intervention in Dublin after hundreds of young people gathering to celebrate the weekend turned violent. Nineteen people, including two juveniles, were arrested for public order offences in Dublin last night. Two gardaí were also injured during the operation. A number of main streets were also sealed off by gardaí during a large scale policing operation.
The crowd had gathered in Dublin city center since 3 pm yesterday, and gardai had repeatedly told them to disperse, but the mob deified officers and threw glass bottles and stones at them. Later, when the youths refused to leave South Anne Street around 9 pm, gardai confronted them with force. Following this, a large number of uniform and Public Order Unit garda officers were deployed throughout the city.
The garda statement read: “In total, 19 people were arrested for public order offences in Dublin City Centre, including two juveniles who were released and referred for Juvenile Diversion Programme.
“Six persons received the Adult Caution, one person was released pending a summons for public order offences, while 10 people were charged with public order offences and will appear in court at a later date.”
“Throughout the course of the evening, members of An Garda Síochána came under attack from glass bottles at various locations, a number of criminal damage incidents occurred including a bin being set on fire on South William Street.
“One person, who was not a member of a group partaking in any public disorder incidents, was assaulted and taken to hospital. Two members of An Garda Síochána were injured and received treatment while one Garda Patrol Vehicle was damaged.”
Assistant Commissioner Ann Marie Cagney said that gardaí will not tolerate bad behaviour in the Dublin city centre. She said the event was organised by a group of people who were deliberately trying to cause trouble.
“It is not coordinated, in the sense that it is coordinated on social media but we are saying it is a group of like minded individual, predominantly male who are coming into the city and causing trouble.
“We will not accept that behaviour and it is not good enough for the good citizens of Dublin to have that kind of behaviour on their doorsteps,” Cagney said.
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