A substantial Garda presence on Dublin's streets last night ensured that incidents in the aftermath of the St Patrick's Day parade were reduced on last year. Paul Cullen and James Fitzgerald
A hugely successful parade attended by more than 700,000 people was followed during the day by a largely good-natured celebration enjoyed in unusually balmy spring weather.
However, as was the case last year, the festivities were somewhat marred by drunken and unruly incidents later in the day with gardaí reporting dozens of arrests in the city centre. Some thirty eight people alone were arrested over the course of the day by Store Street gardaí, while 30 people were arrested by Pearse Street gardaí.
In Galway, a man was being held for questioning last night after a stabbing in the city centre.
Gardaí say that a youth was assaulted and seriously injured near the Claddagh church and was taken to University College Hospital. His condition was described as "critical but stable".
An incident inside a pub on Catherine Street in Limerick led to nine arrests at around 7pm yesterday, although there were no reports of any serious injuries. The pub in question had to be closed following the disturbance.
Gardai in Cork reported very few incidents up to late last night.
According to gardaí in Dublin, a "huge operation" had been put in place to prevent trouble, which was maintained up to early hours.
Off-licences remained open during the day, disregarding a call by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Michael Conaghan for them to close until 6pm. And they appeared to be doing good business, with large numbers of young people getting their "spirit of St Patrick" on the streets from a beer bottle or can.
Numbers attending the parade were significantly up on last year, when 500,000 spectators attended. Some 3,000 marches and 17 international marching bands took part in this year's parade.
Four of the 10 pageants in the parade had to be redesigned to fit under the electric cables of the Luas on O'Connell Street. The power on the light rail system was switched off to avoid electrocution. Huge crowds also thronged a fun fair on Merrion Square, which continues until Sunday, and a céilí mór in Earlsfort Terrace.