The Garda Commissioner is being praised for efforts to crack down on crime gangs in Louth in the wake of the death of Garda Tony Golden.

Noirin O' Sullivan has ordered an extra twenty-seven officers to be stationed in the county and has told the Emergency Response Unit to carry out checkpoints in the border region.

Garda Golden was unarmed when he was gunned down by a man who had previously faced charges for being a member of a dissident republican group.

Local former Special Branch Detective Richie Culhane has welcomed the step up in security and says he hopes it will last:

This comes hours after the Taoiseach spoke out about his dismay against a man who defaced the condolences book for Garda Golden that was being held in Drogheda Garda Station.