Gardaí make 88 arrests over the course of the Rally weekend

Eighty-eight arrests were made by gardaí during the course of the Donegal International Rally.

An extensive Policing Operation was in place for the event, the Garda helicopter was on hand, the public order Units were out on patrol each night, Traffic Corps members were on patrol and were operating checkpoints and speed checks, motorcyclists were out patrolling and regular uniformed garda members were out on the beat and were conducting patrols as well as responding to regular calls. 

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The rally took place between Friday, June 16 and Monday, June 19. Gardaí say there were arrests across the Division over the course of the weekend but the most noticeable number of arrests were within the Letterkenny District as it drew in the bulk of the crowds.

Four people were arrested for assault, there were 9 drink driving arrests, 4 people were arrested on drug related charges and 2 people were arrested for the possession of an offensive weapon. 

There was a total of forty-six public order arrests, 1 theft-related offence, fourteen people were arrested for dangerous driving, 2 people were arrested for theft of a vehicle and there was one domestic-related arrest. 

Eighteen arrests occurred between Friday and Saturday, forty-two of the arrests occurred between Saturday and Sunday and twenty-eight arrests occurred between Sunday and Monday.

Gardaí would like to thank everybody who came to Donegal at the weekend and who complied with the law. They say the vast majority of the visitors to the county were a pleasure to deal with but stipulated that as always there is a cohort of people who arrive every year for rally weekend with no intention of abiding by any rules and cause trouble. 

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A Garda spokesperson said: “Thankfully these people are in the minority however and a good number of them have been brought before special sittings of the District Court over the course of the weekend. We are pleased that no major incidents occurred on or off the roads over the course of the weekend.”