The Army should help Gardaí police Dublin on St Patrick’s Day to help stop “complete carnage” on the streets, a local businesswoman has said. 

St Patrick’s Day brings hundreds of thousands of people into Ireland every year - all keen to celebrate and sample Irish culture. 

However, for Janice Lawless of Beshoff fish and chip shop on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, it is not a day she particularly enjoys. 

“It’s a logistical nightmare - both for Gardaí and ourselves,” she told The Hard Shoulder.  

“The amount of antisocial behaviour on St Patrick’s Day - especially with underage drinkers. 

“We’ve witnessed [people] outside Beshoff’s openly taking drugs, drinking, fights - it’s complete carnage.”  

Crowds gather for the St Patrick's Day Parade on Dublin's O'Connell Street. Picture by: PA Images / Alamy Stock Photo / Niall Carson

St Patrick’s Day is thought to generate €70 million in revenue for the Irish economy and Ms Lawless admits the day is good for business. 

“There’s no option - everybody is on the roster on St Patrick’s Day,” she said. 

“It’s all hands on deck - it’s not an option to be off that day - it’s just so busy.” 

Ms Lawless blames too much alcohol on the antisocial behaviour and says Gardaí need extra help policing the city centre. 

“I think maybe on St Patrick’s Day, if they could call in the Army to help with crowd control, antisocial behaviour and underage drinking and everything that’s involved with St Patrick’s Day,” she said. 

Last year, around 400,000 people attended Dublin’s St Patrick’s Day parade and hotels in the capital are charging people high prices to stay the weekend.

Main image: Dublin on St Patricks Day. Picture by: Alamy.com