BBC Northern Ireland's Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison reports that there are fears anti-globalisation protestors may be planning to riot.

Police have worked hard to secure the venue at Phoenix Park

All week, Ireland's policemen and women have been getting ready for the country's biggest security operation since Pope John Paul II visited in 1979.

They have been putting razor wire around Farmleigh in Dublin's massive Phoenix Park, where the Irish Prime Minister, Bertie Ahern, will host a special dinner for the 25 heads of EU governments on Saturday night.

Nothing is being left to chance, with water cannons being imported from Northern Ireland's police service in case there are anti-globalisation riots.

All police leave has been cancelled. More than 5,000 officers will be on duty this weekend and 1,000 of those will be positioned in riot gear at four different parts of the city.

A special section of a Dublin prison has also been cleared in case it is needed to detain arrested rioters.

Monitoring

The head of the Irish Republic's police, Noel Conroy, has said he expects between 200 and 300 people from Britain to cause trouble.

He said his officers, who will be getting help from other forces to identify the troublemakers, will monitor their activities as closely as they can.

"If they break the law within our sight, you can take it that they will be dealt with quickly and efficiently."

An additional 2,500 Irish soldiers will also be on duty protecting the Phoenix Park, Dublin Airport and Dublin Bay from possible terrorist attack.

I really do believe the threat of violence is scaremongering Aileen O'Carroll, Dublin Grassroots Network

All of this has been described as an over-reaction by groups planning to protest at the direction in which the European Union is moving.

Aileen O'Carroll, a spokeswoman for the Dublin Grassroots Network, says the threat of violence is largely media hype designed to discourage people from protesting against privatisation and what she calls the building of "a Fortress Europe and a militarised EU".

"All the reports in the papers have been from un-named sources, un-named groups and un-named individuals. So, I really do believe the threat of violence is scaremongering," she said.

'Evidence of reconnaissance'

The Irish police deny exaggerating the threat of violence.

They say that in raids on unoccupied flats and homes, they have already recovered items that could be used in riots.

They also say they have discovered evidence that members of a British anarchist group, called the Wombles, may have already been to Dublin on a reconnaissance mission.

Many Irish soldiers will monitor security at the event

The May Bank Holiday weekend is normally very profitable for Dublin's traders but it is reported that some are planning to close early because of fears of trouble.

The hope is that the weekend will pass off peacefully, remembered more for the celebration of the accession of the new member states than for violent unrest.