Sixteen people were arrested in Killarney on Sunday night and yesterday morning, bringing to 50 the number taken into custody during the first major international car rally of the year, the Ordnance Survey Rally of the Lakes, at the weekend.
After an affray on Saturday night in the New Street area, involving up to 500 people, gardai were forced to don riot gear. Windows were broken and at least 25 rioters were taken away in Garda vehicles. Coins, bottles and glasses were thrown in the confrontation which, eyewitnesses said, was "like something out of Northern Ireland".
Sunday night's trouble was on a lesser scale and the 16 arrests were for drugs, drink-driving and public order offences. A number of vehicles belonging to what are known as twin-cam gangs were impounded.
Supt Michael Maher said about 200 such souped-up vehicles with enlarged exhausts and blacked-up windows were in town over the weekend.
"A lot of the car-parks were fenced off so these people were prevented from engaging in their usual displays," Supt Maher said.
Meanwhile, gardai have been praised for their handling of the rally by tourism representatives. The chairman of the Kerry County Tourism Committee, Ms Kathleen O'Regan-Sheppard, said that while the rally had gone extremely well as a result of tight Garda controls, it was unfortunate that Saturday night's disturbances sent out the wrong kind of message about Killarney.
"Of course everybody in town is concerned with the damage than can occur as a result of the wrong element over-drinking, most especially because of the beauty and tranquillity of the area in which we live."
And she said it might be better to hold this kind of event at a quieter time of the year, in November.
A spokeswoman for the Vintners' Association, Ms Bernadette Randles, said there was no question of seeking the cancellation of the rally because of incidents which had nothing to do with genuine rally followers.