Tempestuous and thrilling for the 4,000-strong crowd it most certainly was as St Patrick's maintained their leadership and their unblemished record in a game that provided a missed penalty and a crazy own goal - not to mention three sendings-off.
Two of those red cards were given to Bohemians players - Raffaele De Gregorio and captain Tony O'Connor - while Keith Doyle of St Patrick's was also sent off.
After a tentative enough start, an intense sequence of action brought the game to the boil on 26 minutes when St Patrick's should have taken the lead as Bohemians'
New Zealand midfielder, De Gregorio, was sent-off for deliberate handball.
A corner from Robbie Devereux was headed onto the Bohemians crossbar by Paul Osam. The ball dropped down and Robbie Brunton, in attempting to clear, only succeeded in heading the ball back into the air; as it came down again De Gregorio appeared to raise his arm against it to try to keep it out of the net and the referee, Jim O'Neill, promptly sent him off.
There was a reprieve of sorts for Bohemians when Trevor Molloy shot the penalty against the butt of Jason Batty's right hand post.
Bohemians, looking for their first win of the league season, were well in the game up to that point, forcing the only real save of the first-half from Trevor Wood after 15 minutes when a clearance from Keith Doyle ricocheted off Fergal Harkin, and Wood did well to keep the ball out of the net.
Down to 10 men, Bohemians noticeably struggled in the run up to the break as St Patrick's were finding space behind them. Martin Russell sent Doyle up the left to cross only for Osam to shoot over the crossbar from 12 yards.
The house then really began to fall in for Bohemians in the first two minutes of the second-half when they gifted St Patrick's the lead. Eddie Gormley got in behind them up the left and his cross was side-footed into his own net by Brunton under no pressure at all.
That lifted St Patricks and the crowd. Bohemians simply fell apart.
Batty made two superb saves to keep out powerful shots from Devereux and Gormley as the visitors lost their shape.
A second goal arrived after a bizarrely-awarded free-kick on 64 minutes when a Bohemians player picked the ball up thinking the game had been stopped for an infringement. Russell floated the free into the area and Ian Gilzean volleyed home.
Ten minutes later an undignified scuffle between O'Connor and Doyle saw both sent off.
Bohemians almost snatched a goal back on 83 minutes when Trevor Croly cleared off the line from Graham Lawlor and Wood then tipped over from Brendan Place.
But Osam had the last say with a terrific goal in injury time after Molloy had cleverly dummied Martin Reilly's cross.
St Patrick's Athletic: Wood; Croly, McGuinness, Lynch, Doyle; Devereux, Gormley, Russell, Osam; Molloy, Gilzean. Sub: Reilly for Gilzean (89 mins).
Bohemians: Batty; O'Hanlon, Maher, Place, Brunton; Harkin, O'Connor, De Gregorio, Mooney; Swan, Ngata. Subs: Lawlor for Swan (50 mins); Broughan for Ngata (80 mins).
Referee: J O'Neill (Waterford).
