Three people have been taken to hospital after a car was driven into a group several times in Skerries, north Co Dublin, during a public order incident on Saturday night.
A man in his 20s was arrested on Sunday in connection with the investigation.
A large group of people, including at least two rival factions, gathered on Harbour Road, where a violent mass fight unfolded for a prolonged period, including on the pier, as people socialising outside a nearby pub looked on.
It was unclear if the group fight had been pre-arranged or if the factions clashed in a more spontaneous incident. However, one strand of the Garda investigation is trying to determine if the disturbance, which unfolded over a large area, went ahead by arrangement.
READ MORE
A vehicle was driven at people, hitting them, at least twice. The people hit the first time, some of whom were thrown into the air, tried to scramble away, injured and stunned, as the driver attempted to drive at them again.
The three people taken to Beaumont hospital, two female and one male, were in their late teens, gardaí said. They were treated for injuries believed to be non-life-threatening. Another male was subsequently reported to have received non-life-threatening injuries.
Tensions between rival factions, including some young men involved in the drugs trade in north Co Dublin, have worsened in recent weeks in the area.
Gardai were trying to establish the reason for Saturday night’s incident. However, they suspect some of the rivalries that erupted in violence are drug-related.
Garda Headquarters said local gardaí responded to “reports of a public order incident” at Harbour Road after the violence began. Concerned members of the public made emergency calls seeking a response.
“At approximately 9.30pm a large number of youths gathered and a fight broke out,” the Garda said. “During the course of the incident a car drove at a number of people.”
Three teenagers – two females and one male – were taken to Beaumont Hospital for treatment with non-life threatening injuries while investigations are ongoing.
Gardaí are reviewing CCTV footage recorded in the area at the time and were also reviewing clips recorded by bystanders on their mobile phones, some of which have been shared on social media and have gone viral.
The vehicle driven into people is clearly visible, with at least one man getting out of the car to challenge some of those on foot in the area. As that man engaged in a fight with another member of the rival group, both fell into a nearby packed beer garden at the front of a pub on Harbour Road.
As that was taking place, the vehicle the man had alighted from was reversed and then driven forward at speed, hitting a number of people and ramming a parked car. The driver then appeared to attempt to ram people for a second time.
A large emergency response took place at the scene, with gardaí in vehicles pouring into the area and several fire tenders also in attendance. They brought paramedics into the scene to attend to the injured before three of them were taken to hospital by ambulance.
Gardaí believe they will be able to identify the car used to ram the injured, and some of those present at the scene, though the investigation to identify all of the main protagonists was likely to take some time.
It is understood anti-social behaviour has been ongoing at the harbour for the last five weeks, and gardaí have been working with local publicans to resolve it prior to Saturday night’s incident.
Marcella Cadme, manager at The Brick House restaurant, said it was “shocking”.
“It was very, very lucky, because things could have ended up very badly”.
“Thank God those kids are OK, and whoever was hurt yesterday, that they are recovering,” she told The Irish Times.
Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee of Fianna Fáil, a family friend of one of the young women injured in the incident, said in a statement she had spoken to Minister for Justice Jim O’Callaghan about the incident and asked for additional Garda resources to be deployed as soon as possible.
“Recently, we have seen a significant increase in the number of young people visiting the area during the summer months, and it is clear that tensions have been building. What happened on Saturday night was completely unacceptable,” she said.
Louise O’Reilly, Sinn Féin TD and Skerries resident, said the “scenes of violence we witnessed last night were deeply distressing”.
Those responsible must face consequences, she said, and Garda numbers need to match the population in North Dublin.
“I have sought a meeting with the gardaí in Balbriggan and I will be in touch with the Minister for Justice.
“Anyone who took mobile phone footage of these incidents should immediately hand that footage over to the gardaí so that those responsible are brought to justice,” O’Reilly told The Irish Times.
