Gardaí from four towns were called to deal with public order incidents in Castleisland, Co Kerry, yesterday morning.
The alert was raised after street fighting broke out in the town. The most serious incident occurred at around 8 a.m. Fighting erupted in a number of housing estates as well as on Castleisland's Main Street.
According to locals, a core group of around 20 Travellers were involved, watched by up to 60 others. Weapons including baseball bats were used.
The windows of at least one house were broken and car windows were also shattered. Gardaí from Killarney were called to the scene but quickly required assistance and large reinforcements from Listowel and Tralee were then called.
Two youths, one a minor, were arrested at around 8.45 a.m. and taken to Killarney Garda station where they were charged with a public order offence and with assaulting gardaí.
A local councillor said yesterday the situation was out of control in Castleisland. Gardaí, housed in a temporary station in the town, have denied this but have admitted they are under-resourced.
There have been several brawls and street fights involving large groups since the Christmas period, some of them connected to a feud between Travellers and local settled people. In a number of incidents baseball bats and other weapons have been confiscated.
A stabbing incident at a busy roundabout during peak evening traffic last Wednesday, in which a man in his 20s was removed to Kerry General Hospital, has also been linked by gardaí to the on-going trouble. On three occasions since Christmas, gardaí have had to call for large reinforcements to deal with riots and street battles.
Kerry County Councillor Mr Bobby O'Connell (FG), a local representative, said yesterday that he believed the situation in the town was now "out of control".
Every weekend there was a serious incident and people were sick and tired of it, he said.
Mr O'Connell said it was time for Travellers to make a better effort to take control of the situation.
The Traveller community claims their youths are being taunted and name-called by young members of the settled community.
Both communities also say Travellers from nearby towns in Kerry and west Limerick converge on Castleisland and some give the local Travellers a bad name.
Locals as well as Garda sources have said a turf war over drugs is responsible for some of the conflict.
Mr O'Connell said that gardaí housed in a temporary building did not have a cell, and had to go on an hour's return journey to Killarney, a waste of Garda resources when they were needed on the street. People felt frightened and intimidated, he said.
Gardaí have acknowledged that they are under-resourced because they do not have a 24-hour station, a cell, or access to the PULSE computer system.