Gardaí made a number of arrests in the Temple Bar area of Dublin on Saturday night after a crowd gathered on the street.
Footage from a webcam showed a large group of people at the junction of Temple Bar and Temple Lane South.
In a statement to breakingnews.ie, gardaí confirmed they “engaged with those present and the crowd dispersed”.
Three men, all aged in their 20s, were arrested for public order offences.
Webcam footage shows a large group of people gathered in Temple Bar on Saturday night. Photo: EarthCam
Gardaí arriving to disperse the crowd. Photo: EarthCam
Current public health measures allow a maximum of 15 people to meet together outdoors.
Many hospitality businesses remain closed, but some are serving takeaway food and drinks to customers.
Bars and restaurants in the Republic will be able to provide outdoor hospitality from June 7th, although there is no confirmed date for when they can reopen their doors for indoor service.
Businesses in Temple Bar are devising plans for outdoor tables and chairs on 17 streets that could seat up 3,000 people.
The area's famous pubs have endured one of the longest shutdowns in Europe, with most traditional pubs closed for more than a year.
Portobello closure
Meanwhile, Dublin City Council has closed a public space in the Portobello area at weekends after complaints over on-street drinking and anti-social behaviour.
The council said Portobello Plaza will remain closed for the next three weekends following a meeting between local residents, the council, public representatives and gardaí.
Amid the closures, Green Party councillor Janet Horner is calling for the introduction of night marshals to ensure people are behaving in public spaces.
“We want people to relax, we want them to have fun, but we also want them to know where the toilets are, where bins are, remind them to be picking up after themselves,” she said.
“Supporting and encouraging people to basically behave responsibly, behave with consideration to others in public space without doing what we’ve seen in the case of Portobello Plaza, which is sanctioning and taking away public space from people who need it, children who want to play there.”
