Gardaí have reported a threefold rise in the number of calls relating to public order offences and other disturbances in the Dublin area on Halloween night compared to the same period last year.
Supt Kevin Donoghue insisted that the force was able to cope with the surge in public order problems.
He said it appeared that large amounts of fireworks had been smuggled from Northern Ireland while there were signs that the trade was linked to organised criminal activity.
"We had a number of special operations in the Border area and around the country, which resulted in seizures worth around €300,000. But with an open border with Northern Ireland, where fireworks are legal, it's an uphill struggle."
Dublin hospitals did not report a substantial number of firework-related injuries. Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children had just three admissions caused by burns, while Tallaght Hospital said it had one serious case involving a teenager who required plastic surgery.
Many A&E units, however, struggled to deal with a surge in the number of alcohol-related injuries on Halloween night.
"We were overflowing this morning with patients attending with alcohol-related injuries," said Dr Aidan Gleeson, a consultant at Beaumont Hospital.
"There were lots of hand, head and facial wounds, a lot of teenagers brought in unconscious through alcohol intoxication," Dr Gleeson said. "It seemed to be particularly high this year. The SHOs [senior house officers] said it was probably the worst night they'd ever had."
Dublin Fire Brigade also reported a busy night and received 900 calls from members of the public.The brigade's 40 fire engines or appliances were sent out to just under 300 fires around the city. On a typical night the service responds to around 30 incidents.
"They were mostly unsupervised bonfires or people worried that fires were getting out of hand, fires too close to houses and the danger of sparks going on to flat roofs with mineral felt, which is highly flammable."
Vets, meanwhile, said the supply of fireworks on the streets in the weeks leading up to Halloween resulted in significant demand for sedatives for sensitive pets.
"Some pet-owners were providing sedatives to their pets in the three weeks leading up to Halloween," said veterinary surgeon, Mr Richard Lavelle of the Sandymount Pet Hospital.
"There is huge demand for sedatives at Halloween these days," Mr Lavelle said.
"Tranquillisers are popular, but so are homeopathic remedies and a new plug-in-the-wall product, which releases secret dog-appeasing pheromones which make a dog more content in their own environment. They do actually work for some dogs, believe it or not."
