Gardaí reveal St Patrick's Day arrest tally

Figures compiled today by gardai show that officers made 407 arrests in Dublin on St Patrick’s Day.

Of these, 250 were for public order offences while the remainder related to other incidents like vandalism, drink-driving and domestic violence.

A further 180 people were arrested for various offences in Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford up to 6am this morning.

However, a garda spokesman said: “We cannot confirm if all of these arrests were related to St Patrick’s Day festivities, many are just drink-related and linked to any public holiday.

“The number of arrests are the total for all offences detected in the Dublin Metropolitan Region during the 24-hour period between 6am yesterday to 6am this morning.”

Outside the capital, up to 40 people were detained in Cork city arising from drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Another 22 people were arrested for public order offences in Waterford city, while four arrests were made in Tramore.

A further 52 revellers were arrested in Limerick, including nine after a pub brawl on Catherine Street.

Gardai are due to mount extra patrols over the weekend to monitor public order in cities and towns around the country.

Accident and Emergency departments reported a big rise in admissions: Tallaght and Beaumont hospitals in Dublin dealt with 400 patients last night.

Fine Gael MEP Avril Doyle said binge drinking was one of the most urgent challenges facing European health ministers.

She urged the EU Council of Health Ministers to discuss the issue at its next meeting next month.

She said: “We’re talking about a culture of drinking to get drunk, and this leads onto aggression and violence.

“There’s a problem with the easy accessibility of alcohol, but also with public attitudes and with the enforcement of public order legislation.

“The effects of binge drinking exert an incalculable toll across society on emergency services, road safety and family relationships to name but a few.

“The Irish presidency did some good work on this subject last year and it must be carried on by the current EU president, Luxembourg now.”

Gardai had mounted a major public order operation in the capital where more than 700,000 people flocked to see the city’s parade.

On the east coast, two Dart trains had to be taken out of service after youths broke several dozen windows.

Elsewhere, gardai and the ambulance service were also called to deal with a fight that broke out on a Dart train from Howth to Bray.

In a separate incident at Bray Dart station, trouble broke out when several youths tried to evade fares and two security guards were assaulted.

Iarnrod Eireann spokesperson Cliodhna Ni Fhatharta said: “We have CCTV footage of the incident and we will be handing it over to gardai to help their investigation.”

Last week, Dublin Lord Mayor Michael Conaghan called on off-licence premises to stay shut until 6pm to curb outdoor drinking.