Sinn Féin last night confirmed that two of its members were among those arrested following an incident of alleged intimidation in a Co Leitrim pub where a local couple were given less than a week to leave town.
Six men were arrested and questioned in connection with the incident, which happened on Monday night in O'Mahony's bar in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim.
They were held under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, with two being detained in Sligo, two in Manorhamilton and two in Carrick-on-Shannon. They were all released last night without charge. A file is being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Chief Supt Michael Staunton, of the Sligo-Leitrim area, indicated that the men were questioned in relation to public order issues under the Criminal Justice Act, as opposed to the Offences Against the State Act, which is used to question those suspected of IRA membership.
"That indicates the direction the investigation is going," he said.
A Sinn Féin spokesman said that the "fairly minor" incident had been blown out of proportion and did not deserve the sort of attention it was receiving.
"We certainly would not condone the alleged activity, but it was a relatively small thing that happened where verbals were exchanged in a pub. It didn't warrant headline news," he said.
A spokesman for the bar in question refused to comment last night, but it is understood that on Monday night a small group of men burst into the pub and confronted a middle-aged couple who were drinking inside.
According to a witness, the men were very drunk, and one was carrying a hurley, although it is not thought that there was any physical contact during the incident.
"The men accused them of being drug-dealers and then they just gave them an ultimatum. They said they had to leave town by midday on Saturday or else," said the witness.
It is thought that one of the men had a previous falling-out with the man in the couple outside a different pub in the town.
According to locals, the couple in question are well known in the area and are regular customers of O'Mahony's. "We have known them a long time, and they are not involved in any way with the drugs trade," said one man.
"These guys were just bullies full of drink, looking for someone to abuse on the night. Nothing like this has ever happened here before, and I don't think it will happen again, judging by the reaction around here," he said.
A Sinn Féin spokesman last night played down the seriousness of the incident and suggested that, had the men been members of any other political party, it would not have received the same attention.