A Garda who was hit by a bottle after he and his colleague were attacked by a mob on a street is expected to be off work for a number of weeks.
The officer went to hospital for treatment following the vile incident in Ballyfermot in south west Dublin area on Monday.
The garda's injuries were not as bad as first feared, but he suffered soft tissue injuries to his face and jaw as well as concussion.
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He and his colleague were swarmed by a large group when several bottles and missiles were thrown at them, with one hitting him in the face.
The incident followed a funeral for a young man, who died unexpectedly earlier this month, at the Church of the Assumption in Ballyfermot.
Gardai had a policing plan in place as they had anticipated a number of scrambler bikes would be out.
However they only intervened when an elderly woman was almost hit by one of the dozens tore around the roads of the Dublin suburb.
A number of garda vehicles were also damaged there on Monday.
A policing plan remained in place there night but no more incidents happened that evening.
Later on, two men were arrested at a filling station on Kylemore road before they were released with a file going to the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Brendan O'Connor, the President of the Garda Representative Association, said the issue was "disturbing" and it highlights what members of the force are facing.
He added: "We repeat our calls for the Minister for Justice to set up a taskforce to tackle the huge challenges facing policing.
"To address the number one problem, which is the shortage of gardai."
The General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors Antoinette Cunningham said that the increase in violence against gardai is unacceptable.
And she insisted that the issues around recruiting and retention of staff must be addressed.
She said: "The Government clearly has not achieved its targets.
"They didn't achieve their targets last year - they promised a recruitment of 800 gardaí last year, they achieved just over 120."
And Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald also raised it in the Dail yesterday.
She wants Minister for Justice Simon Harris to provide “an active plan" to address this situation.
McDonald said: "It is now very, very clear that we do not have the Garda resources that’s required right across the State to keep communities and citizens safe.
“I would go so far as to say that increasingly people feel very unsafe in their own homes, on their own streets and in their own communities.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar condemned the attack but insisted that the Government is investing in the force.
He said: "We provided funding for an additional 1,000 recruits this year.
"Recruits enter Templemore every 11 weeks now and the total number who completed or began training last year was almost 500.
"I take confidence in knowing that a further recruitment campaign is going to be launched in the coming months and that will ensure a pipeline of suitable candidates."
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