Newry · Just off Junction 20 · On the border · Free parking
Northern Ireland has the tightest firework rules anywhere in the UK or Ireland: you need a Department of Justice licence to buy, possess or use most categories. Big Boom Fireworks stocks 649 fireworks across five brands near Newry, and we will tell you plainly what you need before you spend a penny.
In England, Scotland and Wales an adult can walk into a shop in the weeks around Bonfire Night and buy a consumer firework over the counter with nothing more than proof of age. Northern Ireland does not work that way. Here, most fireworks sit under a licensing regime administered by the Department of Justice, and buying or even possessing them without a licence is a criminal offence.
In practice that covers almost everything people actually want: barrages and cakes, rockets, roman candles, fountains, wheels and selection boxes. Category F1 items — most sparklers, party poppers, throwdowns, indoor novelties — are normally outside the licensing requirement, though you still have to be 18 and we still check ID.
The practical consequence is timing. A licence application takes time to process, and the queue lengthens sharply through October as Halloween approaches. If you leave it until the last week you will very likely miss the night you were buying for. Apply early, and come and talk to us before you do if you are unsure which categories to name.
This is also why we do not sell online. You cannot check a licence or a photo ID through a website. Everything here is reserved online and collected in person, with the checks done at the counter — which keeps us trading and keeps you the right side of the law.
TODO(client): add the official Department of Justice licence application link and current fees, and have this section reviewed by your solicitor before launch.
Most NI retailers carry one manufacturer. We carry five, side by side, so you can judge them against each other rather than against a photograph.
Big, bold and built for back gardens. Cube's selection boxes and barrages are the easiest way to put on a proper show without a display licence.
94 products · from £9.99
A deep, trade-proven range covering everything from £5 fountains to 1.3G professional barrages, plus the Elite and Esco collections.
199 products · from £0.80
Serious firepower. Men Shun's 1.3G rockets, crates and multi-shot barrages are what you buy when the whole street is watching.
196 products · from £0.80
The newest name on the shelf. Compound cakes, gender-reveal cakes and smoke flares with a genuinely modern effects package.
90 products · from £1.99
Cult favourites and heavyweight barrages. Diamond do loud, bright and unapologetic better than almost anyone.
70 products · from £1.60
Range spans £0.80 to £1000.
Common questions
Yes. In Northern Ireland it is an offence to buy, possess or use most categories of firework without a licence from the Department of Justice. That covers barrages, cakes, rockets, roman candles, fountains and selection boxes. Category F1 items such as most sparklers and party poppers are normally exempt.
You apply to the Department of Justice, pay the fee, and your licence sets out what you may buy and when. Apply well before Halloween, because processing slows considerably through October. Bring the licence and photo ID when you collect — the named licence holder must be present.
Look for range, real stock and honest advice rather than a big catalogue online. Big Boom Fireworks holds over 650 products from five manufacturers on the shop floor near Newry, so you can compare cakes side by side and get straight advice on what actually performs.
You must be 18 or over. We check photo ID on every sale, without exception. It is a criminal offence to sell fireworks to anyone under 18, and we would lose our licence to trade. Where a firework licence is also required, the licence holder must collect in person.
Local to us? See fireworks in Newry. Travelling from the south? Read buying fireworks on the border.
