Three arrested after 200 teens turn up to house party that went viral
Over 200 young people turned up at a house party uninvited in Co Kildare on Monday evening.
A 17-year-old girl posted on social media she was inviting friends to her house in Leixlip.
It was shared and went viral before gardaí were called.
The girl's father Kevin says he was away for the night and it spiraled out of control.
"My daughter asked could she have five or six friends over and I said yes," he said.
But of course teenager being a teenager, she thought she would pull a sneaky one and invite about 15-20 of her friends.
"So she made a private story on Snapchat and she put these people on it - a little invite with all their names on it.
"Someone screenshot it and screenshot was put on a public story and then it just went viral.
"People just showed up from everywhere."
Kevin said that people got taxis and travelled from Blanchardstown, Ballyfermot, Clondalkin, Lucan, Maynooth, Celbridge and other places.
Infectious disease expert Professor Sam McKonkey said people need to realise the dangers of gathering in large groups.
"Stick with the message and that is to keep parties small, ideally outdoors."
Meanwhile, Kevin is reminding people to be careful of what details they share online.
"This is a story about a teenager getting caught by social media and not actually understanding that even if it's on a private story it can still be screenshot and then shared on a public story.
"Once it is shared on a public story, that's it. Game over."
Gardaí said they received reports of a disturbance at a residence in Leixlip at around 7pm on Monday.
The partygoers were asked to leave and three teenagers were arrested for public order offences.
They will be processed under the Juvenile Diversion Programme.
