Drinks giant Diageo is to pay for extra gardaí to be brought onto the streets of cities around the country to police Arthur’s Day celebrations tonight.
A Cork-based chief superintendent last night confirmed the extra manpower was being drafted in and would be paid for by Diageo in order to prevent episodes of public disorder which hit the event last year.
Chief Supt Michael Finn said: “We want people to go into town and have an enjoyable day without encountering any trouble and we will be on the beat to ensure public safety.”
He said Diageo had been responsible in their dealings with gardaí and “have met us on numerous occasions and have been co-operating totally with us”.
Last year in Cork, the event coincided with UCC’s Freshers’ Ball.
In the aftermath of the event, one emergency hospital consultant described the streets of the city as being like the “last days of Sodom and Gomorrah”.
Gardaí had to draft extra numbers from the suburbs to cope with the large numbers gathering in the city centre from 4pm onwards.
In recent days, Diageo has been coming under increasing pressure to abandon Arthur’s Day.
Various groups, including youth organisations and medical staff, have called for the event to be reconsidered amid accusations that it encourages binge drinking and puts emergency services under extra pressure.
Source: Sean O’Riordan and Stephen Rogers, Irish Examiner, 26/09/13
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