Ahern praises Garda handling of riot

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern today praised the garda handling of a riot which marred the EU enlargement celebrations in Dublin as it emerged two Britons, an American and a Swiss national were arrested.

The four were among 29 people charged with public order offences after troublemakers within a crowd of up to 2,000 anti-globalisation protesters clashed with gardaí near an entrance to Phoenix Park.

They appeared before a special court sitting after being arrested when police stopped their march towards the Ashtown Gate entrance of the park where EU leaders were enjoying a banquet after an official flag-raising ceremony last night.

Gardaí said 26 of the 29 people charged were remanded in custody in prison, while three juveniles were released on bail.

Two water cannons were deployed to disperse the crowd after a female officer was injured when protesters tried to force their way through garda lines blocking the Navan Road.

Mr Ahern, the president of the European Council, praised the gardaí for the way they handled the “unfortunate” disturbances.

“It was a small band of deliberate troublemakers trying to mar a wonderful day,” he said. “But they did not succeed in doing that.”

Mr Ahern also paid tribute to the professionalism of the force.

“The Garda handled it wonderfully last night. They were very calm,” he said.

“They took a huge amount of abuse in physical and every other way and I am really thankful for the Garda, the way they handled the event.”

British Prime Minister Tony Blair praised the organisation of the event to mark the accession of 10 new states into the EU at a joint press conference with Mr Ahern in Dublin.

“I congratulate the Taoiseach and the Irish Government and the Irish people for the quite magnificent celebrations yesterday,” he said.

The trouble broke out at the end of a largely peaceful day in Dublin as several earlier marches made their way through the city centre in glorious sunshine without incident.

Garda reinforcements in riot gear were called in when the demonstrators attacked garda lines on the Navan Road with missiles and attempted to break through after being warned they would not be allowed to proceed any closer to the gates of Phoenix Park.

The crowd of protesters largely dispersed as they were driven back into the city centre by riot police and water cannons after clashes lasting almost an hour.

Police later found a live shotgun cartridge lying on the Navan Road along with rocks, bottles and other missiles, which had been thrown at gardai.

A spokesman said the cartridge would be forensically examined.

Rory Hearne of the Another Europe is Possible group claimed the garda response was heavy-handed.

But a garda spokesman insisted they had only reacted to the amount of trouble they faced.

The organisers of the march, the Dublin Grassroots Network, said they hoped the protest would be peaceful, but they could not exercise control over everyone who attended.

The two water cannons used during the disturbances had been borrowed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland amid concerns of violent protests and last night was the first time such machines had been deployed in the Irish Republic.

Their acquisition was part of one of the largest security operations ever mounted in the country to coincide with the arrival of the 25 European heads of state.

All police leave was cancelled and around 5,000 officers were on the streets as the total security bill for the day was expected to reach up to €4m.

Threats of violence from international protesters had forced emergency services, police and the Army to take drastic measures to prevent trouble with 2,500 members of the military on stand-by.

Naval forces based in Dublin Bay patrolled off the coast while the Air Corps patrolled around Dublin airport to keep expected trouble-makers under surveillance.

There were also heightened checks at border crossings.

Bomb-disposal units were also ready for action alongside nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological teams.

About 100 prisoners were transferred from a wing in Cloverhill prison, Dublin, to free cells to cope with any increased arrivals over the weekend.

Local people had also been urged not to visit A&E departments unnecessarily and at least nine city hospitals had contingency plans in case of an influx of patients.