SHAMROCK Rovers Football Club has identified up to 15 renegade fans involved in crowd violence last week and said it would move to ban them from future games.

The club said television footage of the match against Dundalk on Monday night made the process simple, but also said it was reeling at the latest negative publicity.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has launched an investigation into the incident which was sparked when between 10 and 15 fans knocked a segregation barrier down in the ground following the sending off of player James Chambers and manager Michael O'Neill.

Stewards and gardaí, who had drawn batons, had to push back the section of fans in order to restore the fence. Pint glasses were also thrown towards the pitch.

Despite taking immediate steps to ban the minority group, Rovers chairman Jonathan Roche said the club remained powerless to prevent such elements travelling to away fixtures.

"Out of 500 or 600 people you will always get 10 or 15 individuals who will cross the line. We have identified them and that is all we can do. They will be dealt with," he said.

"It's terrible that the 5,000 who come to our games every week are suffering from this negative publicity."

The club has been quick to distance itself from rogue elements but Roche believes the situation would have died down quickly, even in the absence of gardaí and stewards.

But he stressed: "A ban is a ban and they won't be coming to any more matches."

Much of the publicity surrounding the event was due to the presence of justice minister Dermot Ahern who is a native of Dundalk and an ardent supporter of the local soccer club.

In the aftermath of the incident, the minister issued a statement in which he said he was horrified by events at the Oriel Park ground.

"The behaviour of some sections of Shamrock Rovers fans was mindless and left some in the ground fearing for their safety," he said.

"If it wasn't for the quick reaction and professionalism of the gardaí who quelled the riot, there could have been some serious injuries."