Limerick has highest number of illegal fireworks offences

Ottoline Spearman

Limerick had the highest number of illegal fireworks offences over the past 20 years outside of Dublin.

Since firework laws were tightened in the mid-2000s, there have been 4,193 fireworks offences recorded across Ireland, with 184 recorded last year.

72 per cent of these offences were recorded between October and December, due to people using fireworks at Halloween.

Limerick was the county with the highest number of fireworks offences over the past 20 years, with 336 offences recorded in the county’s Garda division.

Donegal had the second-highest number with 263 fireworks offences, followed by Cork with 230 across its three Garda divisions.

Across the six Garda divisions in Dublin, 1,021 offences related to fireworks were recorded from 2004 to Q2 2025 - around a quarter of the total. Dublin West and Dublin North recorded the most offences.

Ireland has some of the strictest laws around fireworks in the world, and data shows that there has been a massive decrease in the number of offences since 2010, when the number peaked at 461.

That is two and a half times more than the number of offences recorded in 2024.

Nearly all fireworks are illegal to sell or possess in Ireland without a licence.

F1 category fireworks are the least dangerous, and can be bought and used by the general public without a licence. These include party poppers, ground spinners, Christmas crackers and some sparklers.

All other fireworks are illegal, and those caught could be arrested and end up with hefty fines or even prison sentences. Gardaí can arrest without a warrant if they suspect that an offence has committed, which includes lighting or possessing an illegal firework.

For more serious offences, the maximum fine is €10,000 or a prison sentence of up to five years, or both.

More minor offences can result in a Class C fine, or prison, or both.

As well as being illegal, there are also concerns about the damage fireworks can do to the environment.

Brian Kelly of EnergyEfficiency.ie explained that fireworks can affect air and water quality, cause land pollution, and harm the well-being of animals: “Fireworks release chemicals, fine particles and heavy metals into the air, producing gases like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

“These substances can stick around long after the display ends, and can lead to poor air quality and respiratory irritation.

“The metal compounds that create the colours that give fireworks their strange appeal can also contaminate soil and waterways once they settle.”