There will be “no tolerance” for public disorder or attempts to impair US president Donald Trump’s movements during his visit to Ireland this weekend, Garda Commissioner Justin Kelly has said, and water cannons will be deployed if necessary.

He described the visit, which has been declared an “extraordinary event” by An Garda Síochána, as one of the biggest policing and security operations “in the history of the State”.

The US president is due to arrive at Dublin Airport on Saturday morning, from where he will travel to Phoenix Park to visit President Catherine Connolly and Taoiseach Micheál Martin.

He will then travel to Doonbeg, where he will stay overnight, before returning to Washington on Sunday.

Speaking to media on Friday morning, Kelly said gardaí were doing “everything we can to minimise disruption to the public but during a visit such as this, it is inevitable”.

“So I would ask for people’s patience this weekend, particularly in Dublin and Clare,” he said.

There will be rolling road closures near Dublin Airport and Phoenix Park on Saturday, as well as around Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon and Sunday evening. Those travelling to the airports have been advised to allow extra time for their journeys.

Phoenix Park has been closed to the public, while access to the environs of Doonbeg village, Trump’s hotel and the “wider west Clare environs will be restricted”.

Trump visit will see Phoenix Park closed and restricted access in west Clare

Kelly said such visits are “always challenging, especially this one in the middle of a busy EU presidency”.

The commissioner said gardaí will facilitate peaceful protest, “but there will be no tolerance for public disorder or attempts to impact critical infrastructure or movements of the president of the United States”.

“We have robust policing plans in place and will arrest and prosecute those committing offences,” he said, adding that gardaí are “well prepared for any eventuality”.

Kelly said it “goes without saying” there would be protests during Trump’s visit, adding that “most people” are expected to do so in a peaceful way.

“On the flipside of that, we have invested extensively over the last number of years, particularly since the Dublin riots, in equipment around public order,” he said.

“We will have water cannon on standby for this weekend,” he said. “We hope we don’t have to utilise that, but if we need to, that’s what we have it for.” Two water cannons were bought by the force in the wake of the 2023 Dublin riots.

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He said it would be a challenging weekend for the Garda.

“In a complex operation such as this, obviously threats are multifaceted,” he said, adding that he was “happy that we have in place everything we need to mitigate all the various threats”.

Assistant Commissioner Paul Cleary said drones were a potential threat “that we have anticipated”, with a “comprehensive” drone security plan was in place for the weekend.

“I’m satisfied with our capacity and capability,” he said, adding that gardaí have been able to “identify, track and mitigate” drones at recent events.

Asked about the reported sighting of a large drone over the Irish Sea on Tuesday evening, Cleary would not comment on specific incidents, of which there had been “many”, but said in the “vast majority” of cases, drones were “not nefarious or sinister in any way”.

Cleary said gardaí were working closely with the Defence Forces in investigating Tuesday’s reported sighting.

Trump’s visit has been declared an “extraordinary event” and a national roster arrangement has been developed to provide Garda resources.

The declaration, alongside the development of a national roster arrangement, will ensure “no reduction” in day-to-day policing services.

Kelly said the vast majority of the Garda’s 14,500 officers will be involved at some level.

“It’s one of the biggest policing operations, if not the biggest, that we have ever done, so everybody is involved in it,” he said.