After reviewing reports from patrols around Croke Park and throughout Dublin city on Saturday, gardaí expressed satisfaction that the Six Nations rugby match between Ireland and England passed off without incident following a small protest by dissident republicans.
Earlier in the afternoon, Republican Sinn Féin (RSF) led a demonstration of about 80 protesters near the ground in protest at the presence of an England team at Croke Park. They gathered close to Quinn's pub on the Drumcondra Road from 3.30pm carrying banners outlining their opposition to the English visit and the decision to allow "foreign" games at the venue.
The mood of the participants contrasted starkly with the cheerful humour of English and Irish supporters who engaged in friendly banter on their way into the stadium. Samba drummers on Drumcondra Road added to the incongruity.
There was a notable Garda presence, including mounted officers, around the stadium before the game, with an estimated 500 extra gardaí over and above the normally large numbers on duty on big-match occasions. The Public Order Unit was held in reserve and searches were carried out as ticket-holders were allowed past the tight security cordon and into the ground.
At 4pm, Republican Sinn Féin president Ruairí Ó Brádaigh was escorted by gardaí through the cordon to hand in a letter of protest addressed to GAA president Nickey Brennan. The letter said that the Ireland-England tie was part of a series of events designed to "normalise British rule in our country".
At about 5pm, a large number of gardaí began escorting protesters away from the venue. Passers-by walking along Whitworth Road, Dorset Street and North Frederick Street looked on in bemusement as the vociferous protesters, including numerous teenagers, made their way back to the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square chanting anti-British songs.
Mr Ó Brádaigh told the assembled crowd they should be "proud of themselves" and that they had sent out "a clear message that a section of the Irish people will never accept British rule in Ireland".
A Garda spokesperson said yesterday that three arrests for minor public order offences were made near the stadium over the course of the day. A small number of arrests, in connection with the protest, were later reported on O'Connell Street.
Back at Croke Park, by 7.30pm supporters were filing out of the stadium and into pubs and restaurants in celebration at Ireland's 43-13 win.