Tensions continue to rise outside GAA HQ this afternoon as Gardai confirm that three people have now been arrested during protests against the Muslim celebration of Eid Al Adha in Croke Park.
Two women aged in their 20s and 40s and one man in his 30s were nabbed by Gardai over Public Order Offences.
The trio have been released without charge with files being prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
A Garda spokesman told Dublin Live that investigations were ongoing into the arrests.
Originally, up to 500 people were expected to attend the 'Festival of Sacrifice' - which starts today and will continue until Monday - but delay of phases meant that only 200 people will now celebrate one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar in GAA HQ.
Croke Park, with a capacity of 82,300, was picked as venue of choice as it was felt to be appropriate to those who identify both as Irish and Muslim.
The decision to hold the event outdoors was also important to Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri, from the Irish Muslim Peace and Integration Council, who said the event needed to go ahead with social distancing in mind.
And while the peaceful Muslim celebration takes place on the famous green grass inside Croker, two sets of angry protesters have stolen the limelight outside the stadium.
Dublin Live understands that one group is protesting against Croke Park holding the Eid Al Adha celebration while the other group is protesting against that protest.
The groups protesting against the event can be heard every so often roaring and booing by those attending the celebration inside in an attempt to try and disrupt their speeches.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Shaykh Dr Umar Al-Qadri said the idea for the Croke Park gathering came after seeing muslims praying in a car park in Germany.
He said: "I got thinking Covid-19 is going to be with us for the next few months, if not longer, and social distancing is part of our lives... [I thought we] could do better than a car park."
He added: "So I thought which place is the most iconic and historic and symbolic venue. And of course it is Croke Park. It is GAA, it is Croke Park that is all engraved into Irish lives and Irishness and I thought what if we can pray in Croke Park?"
