Sinn Fein members protested at the visit to Cork of two British naval mine sweepers over the weekend.
There was a large Garda presence at the city centre quay where the hunter-class vessels, the HMS Brockelby and the HMS Midleton, were tied up.
Sinn Fein member of Cobh Urban District Council, Mr Kieran McCarthy, said the ships were unwelcome and accused the British naval authorities of insensitivity.