There are fears that Welsh hooligans will be among the estimated 7,000 Welsh fans in Croke Park but garda� say they have received no intelligence that trouble is planned.

Cardiff City, Swansea City and Wrexham all have hardcore hooligan elements among their supporters and there is a possibility that some of these will travel to Dublin.

Some Welsh hooligans are known to maintain regular internet contact with rogue fans attached to League of Ireland sides.

Garda� are in touch with their counterparts in the Welsh police but say there is no indication that there are plans to mar the historic occasion. Nevertheless a massive search of Croke Park will take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. The stadium will be "locked down" after it is secured and only official personnel will be allowed in.

A cordon of garda� will be on duty both inside and outside GAA headquarters in the days before the match to make sure that nothing is smuggled in.

A garda source said: "There is nothing at the moment to suggest that any British hooligans are coming to Dublin but we are leaving nothing to chance. The British police are being very cooperative and will travel over to identify and point out any troublemakers.

"The stadium will be searched from top to bottom early next week and it will be totally locked down after this to ensure that it is 100% secure. Everybody remembers the last time England came to Lansdowne Road and nobody wants to see a repeat performance of that."

There was major trouble in 1995 after members of neonazi group Combat 18 ran riot at Lansdowne Road causing the Ireland and England friendly match to be abandoned. Garda� were criticised for intelligence failures that day and have built up good relationships with the National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) which monitors football hooliganism in the UK.

The Welsh FA has sold its full ticket allocation and the away team supporters will be seated in the temporary seats on Hill 16. Irish fans will also be on the Hill but a 'buffer zone' of stewards and garda� will separate both sets of supporters.

Trouble at Welsh football fixtures has increased over the last few years, which has led to a police crackdown.

Last October five officers were hospitalised after being attacked by fans at a Swansea versus Millwall match.

Cardiff City has banned over 160 people from its matches, which is more than double any other club in Britain apart from Manchester United.