Hallowe'en celebrations were marked by a number of injuries and serious public order incidents around the State. Iva Pocock and Alison Healy report.
Four teenagers were being treated in Dublin hospitals yesterday after they accidentally drank a poisonous liquid during Hallowe'en celebrations.
The three males and one female were at a bonfire on Upper Dorset Street when the incident happened between 12.30 a.m. and 1 a.m. yesterday.
All four were initially taken to the Mater Hospital after they drank a clear liquid from an alcohol bottle passed around by an unknown person.
A Garda spokeswoman said the poisonous liquid was a corrosive substance and the bottle had been taken for forensic analysis.
She said that the "whole incident was believed to be accidental rather than malicious" although gardaí were conducting door-to-door investigations in the area seeking witnesses.
The four were initally taken to the Mater Hospital. Two of them were subsequently transferred, one to St James's Hospital and one to St Vincent's University Hospital.
Last night an 18 year old from Hardwicke Street and a 19 year old from Upper Dorset Street remained in the Mater Hospital, where they were described as "stable".
The older of the two youths being treated in the Mater spat the liquid out after he saw the effect it had on the others.
A 14-year-old girl from Railway Street, who was transferred to St Vincent's University Hospital, and a 16-year-old male who was in St James's Hospital, are "stable but remain ill". The Accident and Emergency departments of all three hospitals yesterday contacted the poisons unit at Beaumount Hospital for advice.
Meanwhile, in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, gardaí were attacked by a gang of youths who had tried to block the N2, the main Dublin/Derry road, outside Carrickmacross Court House.
They pulled burning pallets across the road and bombarded gardaí with stones, eggs and fireworks.
Two lorries and a bus had windows broken by stone throwing youths outside the town.
In Castleblayney a number of tractors were stolen and abandoned in the gardens of private houses, while two scrapped cars were also burnt out.
In Dublin, a 24-year-old man was arrested and charged with public order offences after disturbances at Leo Fitzgerald House on Erne Street off Pearse Street, Dublin on Hallowe'en night. He will appear in court later this month.
Up to 100 youths were involved in several incidents around Erne Street during Thursday night and early Friday morning.
Fire brigade officers were attacked with a "hail of stones, rocks and missiles" when they were called to investigate complaints by residents and Garda reinforcements were called in.
A Garda spokesperson said the numbers of disturbances were "no more than usual on a Hallowe'en night". However, a Dublin fire officer with the service for 39 years said it was "one of the busiest nights ever. "All the fire units were out all night and it didn't quieten down until 2.30 a.m."