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22nd Nov 2020

Gardaí in Cork arrest 9 males after large crowds gather in the city centre

Paddy McKenna

The scenes were filmed on Grand Parade in Cork City centre.

Captured by Ali Hamou, an aid worker, it shows large groups of people gathered on the street.

At one point several Gardaí are seen racing down the street, soon after followed by a Garda patrol car.

In relation to the video, a Garda spokesperson said that their members, “observed and intervened with a group of young males suspected of being involved in the sale and supply of illegal drugs.

“One male ran from Gardaí who after a brief chase intercepted and arrested this male. A quantity of suspected cocaine was recovered.

“One Garda received minor facial injuries during the incident.”

Gardaí say 9 arrests were made during this incident and others throughout the evening.

They say 4 men have been released pending the completion of a file for the DPP, whilst another man has been charged with public order offences.

Another male was offered an adult caution and the final two males will be processed through the Juvenile Diversion Programme, Gardaí said.

The Gardaí said that the public was “overwhelmingly compliant with Public Health guidelines” and that most of those gathered were part of family groups and bubbles in the city to see the Christmas lights.

The video follows on from the emergence of similar footage shot in Dublin city centre last weekend which led to speculation that the government was considering stopping the sale of takeaway drinks from pubs in Ireland.

Pubs have been allowed to sell takeaway drinks under all levels of the Government’s Living with Covid-19 plan.

On Friday evening the Taoiseach told Virgin Media News that he wanted the country to exit level 5 restrictions on 1 December.

It is understood that senior government figures are meeting this weekend to discuss the timeline for any move to a lower level of restrictions.

An announcement is expected later this week.

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