Large Garda presence at football match?

Paddyfield

I was at the Galway (United) FC versus Shelbourne game on Friday night at Eamon Deacy (Terryland) Park and there was a massive Garda presence. There were 2 Garda Armed Support Unit cars and 4 Garda vans. At the entrance, there were Gardai with dogs, which I have never seen in this city ever before. All visiting Shelbourne supporters were screened by around 8 Gardai to get into the visiting supporters section of the stadium. I reckon there were no more than 200 Shels fans at the game. Some of Gardai were wearing public order hats etc. There were at least 15 uniformed officers inside the ground during the game. Usually there's only 2 or maybe 4. I've been attending games since the 1980's and have never ever seen any trouble in Terryland.

Shelbourne fans don't have a notorious reputation so I'm baffled. There were no incidents apart from the 2 goals that Galway scored. Shels won a game 1 - 0 at the same venue earlier in the season and their fans celebrated in a normal fashion.

President Michael D Higgins was at the game but he is a regular at games. He was there in a personal capacity with his son. There was no ceremony around his presence. He's been at loads of games this season and is usually flanked by 3 or 4 cops.


Did I miss something?

Kevin Moran

Was there a concession stand offering doughnut samples?? :P
In seriousness though, my guess would be that the low pressure of a game in Terryland would be an ideal scenario for a real world training exercise/rehearsal for something else bigger down the line. Maybe.

Mars Bar

Maybe just because of the numbers? There was almost double than the regular attendance there last night

snubbleste

Maybe they all wanted to see the match for free?

UnleashTheBeast

The club were expecting double the crowd Shelbourne brought (On the advice from Shelbourne themselves). Just over 150 of them travelled and they have their fair share of knacks in their support who seem to surface moreso at away games. They did damage to Flancare Park a few months ago and encroaching on the pitch would cost the club money in fines.

Agreed totally that the police presence was OTT but better to be safe than sorry I guess and the game went off without a hitch.

fergiesfolly

Michael D. was in attendance.
Might have had something to do with it as well.

Wompa1

Sometimes supporters of some of the Dublin clubs can cause a bit of trouble

Col200sx

fergiesfolly wrote: »

Michael D. was in attendance.
Might have had something to do with it as well.

He's been in attendance many times this year and no extra Gardai there on either occasion.

JJpedro

The previous person said that you are to be safe than sorry, I agree , if there was trouble , all the talk would be about the trouble no the fact that Galway FC won two nil, also the fact that there was 1700 people at the match on such a bad night

Paddyfield

Paddyfield wrote: »

I was at the Galway (United) FC versus Shelbourne game on Friday night at Eamon Deacy (Terryland) Park and there was a massive Garda presence. There were 2 Garda Armed Support Unit cars and 4 Garda vans. At the entrance, there were Gardai with dogs, which I have never seen in this city ever before. All visiting Shelbourne supporters were screened by around 8 Gardai to get into the visiting supporters section of the stadium. I reckon there were no more than 200 Shels fans at the game. Some of Gardai were wearing public order hats etc. There were at least 15 uniformed officers inside the ground during the game. Usually there's only 2 or maybe 4. I've been attending games since the 1980's and have never ever seen any trouble in Terryland.

Shelbourne fans don't have a notorious reputation so I'm baffled. There were no incidents apart from the 2 goals that Galway scored. Shels won a game 1 - 0 at the same venue earlier in the season and their fans celebrated in a normal fashion.

President Michael D Higgins was at the game but he is a regular at games. He was there in a personal capacity with his son. There was no ceremony around his presence. He's been at loads of games this season and is usually flanked by 3 or 4 cops.


Did I miss something?

There's an element involved in most of the Dublin clubs.

Dundalk as well would be the other big one outside of Dublin.

Funnily enough there doesn't seem to be the same problem with Drogheda/Cork/Limerick/Derry(sizeable population hubs, could add Galway too tbh).

The problem with the policing at the games is that it seems to disappear far too quick making it rather pointless.

When Galway beat Pats in Dublin opening night a few years back there was a heavy presence around the ground before the game.

After the game, some teenagers from Pats were attacking the bus as it drove down the street in what's more or less Dublin City Centre.
Despite a strong pre game presence, when trouble was most likely there was no police to intervene.

The same has to be said for Friday, there was a strong presence yet most of them left before the game ended and then the away fans were let out at FT mixing with the home fans at the back gate.... :rolleyes:

Similar happened in Terryland a few years back for Dundalk.
The game was called off due to heavy rain, cops rolled out as soon as it was announced and a regular attendee who'd be in his mid 20s was attacked at the bridge 15-20mins later.

It really is a sad indictment on Irish football when games involving such small crowds(on a European comparative scale) require that many guards.
You'd think with the numbers involved this sort of thing would be easier to weed out.

chuky_r_law

maybe there were water meters being installed in the area

Paddyfield

This was more tham just a heave Garda presence. There were armed Gardai and Gardai with dogs and Gardai wearing public order uniforms. There were 4 Garda vans. I should've looked up to see if there was a Garda helicopter hovering above.

I have come to the conclusion that this was a training exercise.

gilberto_eire wrote: »

There's an element involved in most of the

Dublin clubs.

Dundalk as well would be the other big one outside of Dublin.

Funnily enough there doesn't seem to be the same problem with Drogheda/Cork/Limerick/Derry(sizeable population hubs, could add Galway too tbh).

The problem with the policing at the games is that it seems to disappear far too quick making it rather pointless.

When Galway beat Pats in Dublin opening night a few years back there was a heavy presence around the ground before the game.

After the game, some teenagers from Pats were attacking the bus as it drove down the street in what's more or less Dublin City Centre.
Despite a strong pre game presence, when trouble was most likely there was no police to intervene.

The same has to be said for Friday, there was a strong presence yet most of them left before the game ended and then the away fans were let out at FT mixing with the home fans at the back gate.... :rolleyes:

Similar happened in Terryland a few years back for Dundalk.
The game was called off due to heavy rain, cops rolled out as soon as it was announced and a regular attendee who'd be in his mid 20s was attacked at the bridge 15-20mins later.

It really is a sad indictment on Irish football when games involving such small crowds(on a European comparative scale) require that many guards.
You'd think with the numbers involved this sort of thing would be easier to weed out.

Mrs OBumble

Is this thread about football, aka Gaelic? Or soccer?

ratracer

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Is this thread about football, aka Gaelic? Or soccer?

Given that the opening sentence if the OP is talking about Galway United FC playing at Eamonn Deacy Park, I'd imagine it's soccer.

snubbleste

Mrs OBumble wrote: »

Is this thread about football, aka Gaelic? Or soccer?

You'd never see a Garda response like that at a GAA match. D'oh!

Paddyfield

Paddyfield wrote: »

This was more tham just a heave Garda presence. There were armed Gardai and Gardai with dogs and Gardai wearing public order uniforms. There were 4 Garda vans. I should've looked up to see if there was a Garda helicopter hovering above.

I have come to the conclusion that this was a training exercise.

The ERU being there really doesn't mean anything different in terms of the danger potential.

Just those lads are better trained and generally more of a physical presence.

They are just regular beat cops unless an emergency arises.

Apparently a lot of what was down were from Dublin.
So if there were two units of the ERU, one was from Dublin as we only have one in town.

The Public Order unit I've heard of being used at games in Dublin.

The dogs again would just be another means of crowd control.

I'm pretty sure I've even seen mounted Guards at a game in Dublin before.

Anyway to go back earlier in the season, there was about 12-15 Guards at the first(possibly second, or both) Shels game this year.
Extra presence for the extra numbers expected.

If you attended a Dublin Derby or a Dundalk visit to Dublin.... you'll find that kind of presence standard.

Paddyfield

gilberto_eire wrote: »

The ERU being there really doesn't mean anything different in terms of the danger potential.

Just those lads are better trained and generally more of a physical presence.

They are just regular beat cops unless an emergency arises.

Apparently a lot of what was down were from Dublin.
So if there were two units of the ERU, one was from Dublin as we only have one in town.

The Public Order unit I've heard of being used at games in Dublin.

The dogs again would just be another means of crowd control.

I'm pretty sure I've even seen mounted Guards at a game in Dublin before.

Anyway to go back earlier in the season, there was about 12-15 Guards at the first(possibly second, or both) Shels game this year.
Extra presence for the extra numbers expected.

If you attended a Dublin Derby or a Dundalk visit to Dublin.... you'll find that kind of presence standard.

I've been to 2 Dublin derbies and didn't notice any great Garda presence. I was in Dalymount for a Bohs Rovers game and I was surprised that the the crowd was so small. Maybe the cops were hiding :rolleyes:


The ERU are not regular beat cops. They are based in Salthill station and are on duty 24 hours and are armed and ready to respond at all times. There are similar units around the country.

Paddyfield

snubbleste wrote: »

You'd never see a Garda response like that at a GAA match. D'oh!

Ha ha. I saw a bunch of drunken Kilkenny fans (BEFORE the All Ireland replay in Croker a few years ago) getting cuffed and arrested by about 6 Gardai in public order attire. There was no messin'...!

Dan_Solo

Wompa1 wrote: »

Sometimes supporters of some of the Dublin clubs can cause a bit of trouble

I remember a few Shamrock Rovers visits and in the toilets their scarves were more likely to be tied around the arm than the neck.

Diabhal Beag

Keeping elbows warm is no joking matter

Paddyfield

Paddyfield wrote: »

I've been to 2 Dublin derbies and didn't notice any great Garda presence. I was in Dalymount for a Bohs Rovers game and I was surprised that the the crowd was so small. Maybe the cops were hiding :rolleyes:


The ERU are not regular beat cops. They are based in Salthill station and are on duty 24 hours and are armed and ready to respond at all times. There are similar units around the country.

I didn't mean the ERU are just regular cops full stop.
I meant bar an emergency theyre regular guards on beat.
Their presence hardly indicates a different procedure was my point.

Must have been odd Dublin derbies you were at if 15-20 cops and two dogs were deemed too much of a presence.

Bar the dogs, the number of Guards was similar for the other Shels visits.

Not sure what point you're trying to make with the rolling eyes tbh

ErnieBert

I've never seen a sniff of trouble at a match in Terryland over all of the years. UEFA have stipulations in their licensing rules about segregation and policing which don't necessarily apply to this wee country. I'm as baffled as everyone else why there were so many Guards at a match. Shelbourne played in Galway earlier in the season and there wasn't a dickybird out of them!

It's great news that they are renaming the club as Galway United FC.

youngrun

Yes was at the match and there was a huge garda presence and a buffer zone in the old stand too, losing me my prime halfway seat!
Overkill I think
Only trouble I have seen is at a GU vs Shamrock rovers match with a couple of pitch invasions and flares and the likes , must be near ten years ago.

Paddyfield

gilberto_eire wrote: »

Not sure what point you're trying to make with the rolling eyes tbh

I was trying to be funny Gilberto but failed miserably.

I'm going to Dublin on Friday night for the 2nd leg at Tolka Park. It will be interesting to see how many cops are on duty for this encounter.

folbotcar

I saw armed Gardai, as in holding sub machine guns outside the Shamrock Rovers ground in Tallaght once. That made an impression.

They are not ERU though. They're the regional armed response units who are beat cops with special training who carry firearms. The ERU is quite a different animal and are attached to Special Branch.

Don't confuse the two.

UnleashTheBeast

Paddyfield wrote: »

I was trying to be funny Gilberto but failed miserably.

I'm going to Dublin on Friday night for the 2nd leg at Tolka Park. It will be interesting to see how many cops are on duty for this encounter.

Probably not much more than the usual. Why would there be? Galway United fans don't have a reputation for causing hassle in the LOI.

A big crowd is expected from Galway in the region of 250+. Two 47 seaters almost full already. Great to see.

CrowdedHouse

First time I was ever asked 'who are you supporting?' going into EDP
Caused a bit of confusion by saying Tipperary

_Puma_

CrowdedHouse wrote: »

First time I was ever asked 'who are you supporting?' going into EDP
Caused a bit of confusion by saying Tipperary

Was baffling to see all the Gardai and the Canine support unit. They obviously weren't able to weed out all those dangerous Shelbourne supporters cause I was sitting beside a rather pleasant elderly couple at the back of the new stand who were supporting Shelbourne.

I'd say most of them were just glad that we had a covered away section after the night that was in it.

biko

_Puma_ wrote: »

sitting beside a rather pleasant elderly couple