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Large numbers of people came to Cork city center to socialize on Saturday night, and most did not maintain a social distance or wear masks, Gardaí said, but there were few instances of drunkenness or public order issues.
The Gardaí has increased checks and patrols in public places associated with street alcohol use during the pandemic this weekend after the alarm was raised by crowds that gathered in Dublin and Cork last weekend. Plans to ban the sale of takeout drinks in pubs for the remainder of the confinement were presented and then abandoned by the Government following the scenes.
A source said people started pouring into Cork city center around 4pm and queued outside the dozen pubs that serve up pints to go before drinking outdoors.
The source said pubs served alcohol on North Main Street, Cornmarket Street, Oliver Plunkett Street, Marlboro Street, Patrick Street, Emmet Place and Grand Parade, some with lines of up to 60 people outside.
Several coffee shops and ice cream parlors were also open and generated long lines on Saturday night.
Families arrived in town around 5 p.m. to see the Christmas lights and some were still there two and three hours later, the source said, adding to the numbers around Patrick Street, Oliver Plunkett Street and Grand Parade. .
Arrests
The source said that “as long as there are pubs that can sell take out drinks, then there will be people who take advantage of that.”
“There were not many cases of drunkenness. We had a total of five arrests during the period from 7 a.m. Saturday and 7 a.m. M. (Sunday) in the morning, and only three of them were during the period from 5 p.m. Until 10 p.m. M. From Saturday and one was for attacking a guard.
“So the number of law enforcement arrests was nothing unusual even though we ended up with 600-700 people in the downtown area, particularly around the Grand Parade. People weren’t maintaining proper social distancing, but when Gardaí asked them to go ahead, they did. “
The images filmed by charity worker Ali Hamou, who works in Cork city center, were posted on social media on Saturday night. It showed large groups of people, many without masks, gathered in the Grand Parade area.
Hamou, who volunteers with One Human Charity to deliver food and clothing to people sleeping rough in Cork city center, posted that “Saturday night was a turbulent night.” He estimated that around 8pm there were up to 1,000 people in the city center.
A Garda source told The Irish Examiner that Friday night had been one of the busiest Gardaí had experienced in Cork since the pandemic began in March, despite the state being under level 5 restrictions. lock. Saturday night “appears to have been based on that,” the source said.
Dublin
Dublin city center was also busy on Saturday afternoon and evening, but Garda sources said there was less alcohol consumption than the previous weekend and few public order incidents.
Gardaí ordered some groups of drinkers to go ahead, but there were no major incidents, a source said. Many of those who came to town were families trying to see the Christmas lights and went home early at night.
Images of a large crowd singing alongside a busker on Grafton Street have been widely shared online. Gardaí said the crowd dispersed shortly after.
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