Gardaí yesterday issued a warning to parents following concern that young people turned up drunk at an underage disco in Ballyhaunis, Co Mayo, last weekend.
Eyewitnesses complained of young people being drunk outside Monsoon Disco last Sunday night, with a number of intoxicated teenagers stumbling about.
A spokesman for the Mayo Garda Division said many of the young people, who travelled to the disco in buses from as far away as Ballinasloe in Co Galway and parts of Co Sligo, were already drunk when they arrived in Ballyhaunis.
"There were numerous intoxicated persons about the street and some of them were getting sick," a spokesman stated.
In many cases, parents had to be sent for to travel long distances to bring intoxicated children home, he added.
"Parents should be more responsible for their children," the spokesman continued. "They cannot expect gardaí to babysit their youngsters until they arrive to collect them."
Local residents who sent a petition to the Garda demanding action last year said yesterday that Sunday night was one of the worst ever for roaring and shouting and general street disorder.
"On a busy disco night, there are between 300 and 400 kids in town," said Martha Grogan, a resident of Clare Road.
"There was banging on our house door and gate. Bottles were thrown. There was a big fight outside our door at 10.40pm. My mother is 90 years of age and it was very frightening for her."
The manager of Monsoon Disco, Mattie Neary, stressed yesterday that no alcohol was served at the underage discos.
"The problem is that kids are arriving in Ballyhaunis for the disco in a drunk condition. Gardaí can confirm that," said Mr Neary.
He added that not everybody who went to Ballyhaunis on the underage disco night attended the disco. However, they congregated around the general area causing problems which Monsoon management were powerless to prevent.
"If anybody at the disco shows any signs of being drunk, their parents are contacted and asked to travel immediately to bring them home," the disco manager said.
Mr Neary conceded there were scenes of inebriation and a number of serious incidents on Sunday night last.
However, he said the "onus was on parents to know what their youngsters were doing and prevent them arriving at the disco in an inebriated state".