More than 100 guards were on hand to deal with a number of public order incidents.
19 people remain in custody after anti-immigration protests here in Dublin yesterday.
The protests kicked off yesterday morning, including one on Grafton Street, and a march from O’Connell Street to Leinster House.
A sit-down protest also took place on O’Connell Bridge – with public order units needed to remove the protestors
The guards say they used a ‘graduated response’ but that enforcement was needed to deal with public order incidents at around 2:30:
“In the course of the protests, Gardaí were required to respond to a number of public order incidents including one that occurred at Grafton Street, Dublin 2 at approximately 2:30pm,” a garda spokesperson said.
“In order to ensure the safety of all protestors and the general public, Gardaí implemented a graduated policing response taking into account relevant legislation with enforcement as a last resort.
“Throughout the day, Gardaí engaged with protestors and directions were given to those that had gathered at O’Connell Bridge to disperse from the area within the hour. This direction was not adhered to and two Garda Public Order Units were subsequently deployed. A total of 19 arrests were made as part of today’s operation – no further information is available at this time,” they added.
In total, 19 people were arrested – although no injuries were reported.
Gardaí say investigations are ongoing.
