GARDAI in Donegal town baton charged a crowd of youths early yesterday morning, following street fights involving up to 500 people.
It followed an incident a week ago when two Enniskillen youths were badly beaten after they refused to stand for the National Anthem at a local disco.
Three men from Enniskillen and one from Co Donegal appeared in court in Donegal yesterday and were remanded on bail of £500 each. About 12 more people will receive summonses over the incident.
The fighting began shortly after 2 a.m. at a disco in the Abbey Hotel, when a row broke out between youths from Enniskillen and Co Donegal.
After the disco the Northern youths were followed to a fast food restaurant, the Four Lanterns on Quay Street, and it was surrounded by up to 200 people, all in their late teens and early 20s. Gardai closed the restaurant and escorted staff and 60 customers off the premises.
Street fighting involving up to 500 people followed. After a number of arrests a "hardcore" crowd congregated outside the local Garda station. At 3 a.m. garda reinforcements were drafted in from Bundoran, Ballyshannon and Pettigo stations. An hour later gardai baton charged the crowd.
"There was a standoff. They refused to leave and the atmosphere was extremely tense. It took a baton charge to bring order about," according to a local garda.
The youths from Donegal Bruckless, Dunkineely and other areas of the county were "baying for blood" after the Northerners "got the better of them" at the disco, according to the garda.
Over a thousand teenagers are bussed into the town every weekend for discos - many of them from the North. Fighting between groups from the North and local youths isn't uncommon, according to local gardai, but Sunday night's disturbances were particularly bad.