The aftermath: Gardaí have begun gathering thousands of images of rioters in Dublin on Saturday and will distribute them among intelligence officers with a view to arresting and prosecuting those involved.
The move comes as the Garda Representative Association (GRA) has strongly criticised the preparedness of the force for Saturday's violence. The association, which represents rank and file members, has called for an independent investigation to review the precautions taken to protect frontline officers policing the aborted Love Ulster rally.
At a joint GRA and Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI) meeting attended by 1,100 gardaí in Cork city last night, delegates expressed concerns about how the policing of the parade had been managed.
GRA general secretary PJ Stone said that he was still trying to collate information from members caught up in the riots, but from what he had heard to date, he was very concerned about the manner in which Garda management had prepared.
Mr Stone said it appeared that because the Garda authorities didn't have intelligence on possible protests, they decided to police the protest "on the cheap", with the result that at 2pm , Garda management in Dublin were ringing Kells and Tullamore for reinforcements.
Clare GRA delegate Tom Keane asked where were "the water cannon, the Garda helicopter, the mounted units, the well-trained public order units - it was a penny-pinching approach by management."
Teams of gardaí were last night compiling CCTV images of rioters taken from the force's own camera systems in the O'Connell Street, Nassau Street and Temple Bar areas. Images are also being collected from CCTV systems owned by retailers in those areas.
Gardaí investigating the riots are also planning to contact media outlets and request photographs and television images. Cameramen and photographers will be asked to give sworn statements that images which clearly identify rioters were taken in the city centre on Saturday and not at another time or location.
Senior Garda sources said the images will be gathered and sent to Garda Intelligence collators in divisional headquarters across Dublin city. These members will try to identify the rioters by cross-checking them with banks of images on file and on the Garda's Pulse computer system.
The images will then be sent to other members in Dublin Garda stations. Many of those pictured rioting are clearly identifiable.
Meanwhile, earlier yesterday, the GRA claimed that the numbers of gardaí on duty in Dublin city on Saturday would have needed to be increased three-fold if the rioting was to be brought under control quickly.
GRA president Dermot O'Donnell questioned whether any lessons had been learned from other large protests in the capital, such as the May Day demonstrations in 2002 and 2004.
Regarding the lack of water cannon to disperse the rioters, Mr O'Donnell said: "It's regrettable and I think it's a symptom of the lack of investment and resourcing of An Garda Síochána that in almost two years [ since the 2004 May Day protests] we haven't bought one of our own and we currently don't have a water cannon available to us."
The GRA would refer the events to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). He wanted to see if a full risk-assessment had been carried out, and why it had apparently failed.
He also wanted the HSA to issue guidelines for the handling of similar public order flashpoints in the future.