The Chief Medical Officer has said he was "absolutely shocked" by the crowds that gathered in parts of Dublin city centre on Saturday evening.
Dr Tony Holohan said the scenes in the South Great George's Street, Exchequer Street, and South William Street area were "like a major open air party".
Drove into Dublin City Centre to collect someone from work at 815 PM. Absolutely shocked at scenes in South Great George's St, Exchequer St, South William St area. Enormous crowds- like a major open air party. This is what we do not need when we have made so much progress.
— Dr Tony Holohan (@CMOIreland) May 29, 2021
South William St Dublin yesterday evening #rtenews pic.twitter.com/WQMCY1JbC7
— John_Kilraine (@John_Kilraine) May 30, 2021
On Twitter, Dr Holohan said: "This is what we do not need when we have made so much progress."
Cleanup on South William St this morning #rtenews pic.twitter.com/5q6hi1J27R
— John_Kilraine (@John_Kilraine) May 30, 2021
A statement tweeted by Dublin City Council said there was a significant amount of waste left behind overnight and added: "Gatherings of this size and nature are contrary to current public health regulations."
Statement from @DubCityCouncil ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/75FNSAcrbl
— Dublin City Council (@DubCityCouncil) May 30, 2021

Meanwhile, Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive Paul Reid acknowledged the sacrifices made by "young and old" and reminded people that there were still many risks with the virus.
Let's not forget, it has been the Irish people, young and old, who have got us to be in a much better place with #COVID19. So many sacrifices have been made. There's still many risks to be protected against, but let's not loose trust in people doing the right thing. @HSELive
— Paul Reid (@paulreiddublin) May 30, 2021
The comments follow those of Taoiseach Micheál Martin, who on Friday said that continuing advances against the spread of infection required adherence to public health guidelines.
In a statement, gardaí said four people were arrested for public order offences.
They reminded people that the Covid-19 pandemic remains a public health crisis and said a policing operation was put in place following reports of a large number of people congregating at South William Street and adjoining streets.
The operation involved gardaí from the Public Order Unit and the Dog Unit and the crowd was subsequently dispersed.
People congregating in Temple Bar and St Stephen's Green were also dispersed by gardaí. No arrests were made.
Twelve people were also arrested for public order offences in Cork overnight following large crowds gathering at a number of locations in the city centre yesterday.
Uniformed gardaí, with the assistance of the Public Order Unit, dispersed large numbers of people who had gathered throughout the afternoon at Kennedy Quay, Grand Parade and Oliver Plunkett Street.
Gardaí appealed to the public to abide by the ongoing public health guidelines, not to gather in large groups, keep social distancing and wear face coverings in crowded public spaces.
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Meanwhile, public health doctors have warned the variant first discovered in India could soon become the dominant strain in Ireland if case numbers remain high.
Public health doctors say they fear the variant could jeopardise the gains made if cases of it increase. Fewer than 100 cases have so far been detected.
The Department of Health has been notified of 374 new cases of Covid-19. There are 99 people with the virus in hospital; 35 in ICU, which is unchanged from yesterday.
Additional reporting Jennie O'Sullivan