Fleadh much busier for gardaí this year

This year’s fleadh was much busier for gardaí than last year’s event and there were between five and 10 arrests for public order offences each day.

A number of gardaí were assaulted over the course of the week, including in one incident in which three officers were assaulted.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, a garda spokesperson said that while the event was a success from a policing perspective, the number of public order incidents was significantly higher this year.

The spokesperson said that the profile of the fleadh-goers was different this year and that other towns that hosted consecutive fleadhs also experienced a rise in anti-social behaviour in the second year.