The second 24-hour stoppage by gardai won widespread support in the force but caused little disruption. There were no reports yesterday of any serious incidents or injuries arising from the lack of police resources.
The action considerably stretched available resources and some stations could barely provide emergency cover. Large stations in Dublin, which would have up to 15 officers serving on Saturday evening, were reduced to two or three officers, assisted by student or trainee gardai.
Sources in the city said the poor weather kept people off the streets and there was very little public disorder reported. Most larger pubs and clubs also have their own security, and security staff could curb any trouble.
Garda divisions reported officers calling in sick for 24 hours from 6 a.m. on Saturday in large numbers. Estimates put support for the action at between 80 per cent and 100 per cent.
There was considerable concern among senior officers both about the lack of warning of the strike and the fact that experienced officers are always needed on Saturday nights to deal with drink-related violence.
Garda Headquarters reported no serious incidents or injuries involving the 850 trainee gardai and 450 students from the Templemore Garda College who were deployed to make up the shortfall.
The Garda Press Office said there was no noticeable increase in crime during the 24-hour period of the strike.
Senior Garda sources said there had been some concern about a serious incident happening but apart from that there were adequate resources. One officer said about half the force of garda rank were off duty anyway on Saturdays. The student and trainee gardai had made up for the severe shortages in most areas.
GRA sources reported satisfaction at the level of support from their members for the stoppage, which was called only in the early hours of Friday.
Saturday's action by the main Garda staff body, the Garda Representative Association (GRA), was also helped by the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), most of whose 2,500 members refused to do extra duties. They had done so on the last 24-hour GRA strike on May 1st.
Sergeants, in particular, refused to do overtime, extra duties or allow themselves to be sent to work outside their normal working area.
The shortage of experienced officers and the deployment of trainees is a cause of concern to the Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, who expressed concern that there could be a "tragedy" if the 24-hour stoppages continue.
Speaking on RTE yesterday, the Commissioner said: "Students are not sworn-in police officers but am I to leave them aside and not utilise them? I will use every resource I have, from the top echelon right down to the students, and I make no apologies about that because I have to do it.
"At the end of the day it is not a satisfactory system of policing and I am very concerned about this whole issue.
"This is not the way to do business. I think reason and courage is required here for people to do the right thing for the benefit of all the membership of the force. I think common sense must prevail. I known there are problems on both sides but whatever problems exist, surely to God there is a better way than denuding the country of its police force.
"Does it need something outrageous to happen, some tragedy to occur? Are we going to have to wait for that before they say: `We can't do this any more', and that both sides get together and sort this thing out? Is that what we are going to wait for? Because then it's going to be one day too late.
"Is somebody going to be killed in the middle of all this? Are some young officers going to be seriously injured? And it would be no good crying crocodile tears afterwards and saying `we should have done this, that or the other'. "