One man was arrested and a youth was taken to hospital by ambulance from the steps of Tralee Courthouse on Wednesday after trouble flared during a court sitting.
According to gardaí, the cases presented at the weekly District Court in Tralee continued until after 9pm. There had been a long list of contested Garda cases and "droves of people" were left waiting for cases to be heard. A Circuit Court had also been taking place on the day.
Many had begun to drink alcohol by the afternoon and tried to bring drink into the courthouse. By late afternoon there were drunken incidents.
One man in his 20s was arrested for a public order offence on the steps of the courthouse, and a 17-year-old youth was taken to Kerry General Hospital suffering from the effects of drink, gardaí believe. At least one other youth was visibly drunk waiting for his case to be heard. Others were observed drinking in a lane by the courthouse.
Gardaí said that while the incidents were not major, they were "highly unusual" and they attributed them to the longer than usual sitting of the court and the high number of cases listed.
By about 5pm, gardaí stood guard on the main public entrance to the body of the building, closed the door and monitored people entering the courthouse.