More than 80 people attended a rave at an undisclosed location in Leinster on Saturday, with footage from the event showing people dancing together in breach of Covid-19 restrictions.
According to The Irish Times, the event was organised on social media via a private Instagram account, which advertised 200 tickets for a rave in a “mansion” on Saturday near Dublin.
The group behind the event claims to have organised a number of similar raves held during the coronavirus pandemic in the UK.
Videos posted by the group’s Instagram account on Saturday, seen by The Irish Times, show large numbers of people in a building dancing to techno and dance music, with no social distancing.
Tickets for the event cost €30, with people permitted to buy several tickets each. The rave was advertised as starting at 9pm and finishing at 6am the next morning.
While the organisers stated they were selling 200 tickets, it is unclear how many people attended the event. Eighty people were added into one WhatsApp group after purchasing tickets.
Under Level 3 Covid-19 restrictions no organised indoor gatherings are permitted. It is an offence to organise gatherings in contravention of public health guidelines, with fines ranging from €500 up to €2,500, or six months in prison.
A UK phone number used to set up the WhatsApp group chat organising the event could not be contacted on Monday.
When questioned over whether gardaí were aware of the event, a spokesman for An Garda Síochána told The Irish Times it had a policy of not commenting on content published online on third-party sites.
