Unlawful killing

FORTY-THREE years on from one of the darkest nights in this nation’s history, justice finally arrived last Thursday.

Following a year-long inquest that heard evidence from 373 witnesses came the verdict: Forty-eight young people were unlawfully killed at the Stardust nightclub on Valentines Day 1981.

When the jury delivered their verdict at the Coroner’s Court in the Rotunda Hospital, relatives of the victims and survivors of the fire applauded.

Many cried openly as they finally received closure four decades on from the horrific fire that devastated their community.

The jury had found that the fire started from an electrical fault in the hot press in the bar of the Stardust and the foam seating and carpet tiles on the walls all helped the inferno spread throughout the premises.

Lack of visibility due to black smoke, the toxicity of the smoke and/or gases, the heat of the fire, the speed of the fire’s spread, lack of staff preparedness and the failure of the emergency lighting system were all factors that impeded the victims in escaping the building.

The jury also found that the locked, chained or otherwise obstructed exits impeded the ability of any of the dead to escape.

Speaking outside the inquest, fire survivor Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Martina, 16, and Mary, 19, was thankful for the jury’s verdict.

“I’m overwhelmed, really and truly, with happy emotions,” she said.

“48 victims have been vindicated.

“Their right to life, they have it back.

“It’s there in print: unlawful killing. It took a long time, but we got it for the 48 victims.

“Thank God, we got it. We won.

“I know that my mother, my father, Mary, Martina, the 46 victims, Charlie Bird, Eugene Kelly, from above they gave us the strength, and they helped us on this very long journey.”

Also reacting to the verdict following its announcement was Tony McCullagh, co-author of ‘They Never Came Home – the Stardust Story’, and former editor of Northside People.

“This is a landmark day for the Stardust families and is the culmination of their tireless campaigning to establish the truth of what happened in the early hours of St Valentine’s Day, 1981,” he said.

“While today’s verdicts of unlawful killing in the case of each of the 48 victims is hugely significant and will bring the Stardust families some comfort, it will never ease their sense of loss and pain.

“It is shameful, however, that it has taken them more than four decades to get to where they are today.”

Following the announcement of the verdict, the families marched to the Garden of Remembrance carrying photographs of the victims.

They also carried a black banner which read: “They never came home.”

One witness to Thursday afternoon’s events told Northside People:

“As I was standing just outside the court, I could hear proceedings and had a very good view of over half the jury members.

“I was struck by how emotional a number of them were – over 90 days of hearings had an effect.”

President Michael D Higgins described the verdict as a “vindication” of the relatives fight for justice.

“Today’s verdict at the Dublin District Coroner’s Court of ‘unlawful killing’ in the case of each of the 48 young people who lost their lives in the Stardust fire on the morning of 14 February 1981 is one that, while not bringing their loved ones back, is of the deepest importance for all those whose lives were so irreparably altered by that most appalling of days,” he said

“This afternoon’s verdict is a vindication of the fight of those relatives, a promise fulfilled, carried out over 43 long years, by the relatives, friends and community of the 48 young people, all aged between 16 and 27, who had their lives cut short on a night they had simply set out to spend and enjoy in the company of their friends.

“The Inquests, which it must be remembered have only taken place due to endurance and tenacity in the insistence of their families never to give up and to have a conclusion as to fact, have provided for dignity and recognition, however late, being accorded to the lives of each of those 48 young people.

“Today’s findings have at last brought a conclusion as to the circumstances of their death: to the cause of the fire, to the factors which contributed to its spread, to the factors which impeded those who died in their ability to escape and to access and exit through emergency exits, by its ultimate verdict of unlawful killing.

“Findings which again have come about thanks to the tireless campaigning and work of those who cared most for the loss and appropriate memory of each of those who died.”

Taoiseach Simon Harris also praised the families who fought for justice for their loved ones.

“For over four decades, the families of the victims have carried the weight of this tragedy with unwavering strength and dignity,” he said.

“Their relentless pursuit of truth and accountability, their profound commitment to justice, even in the face of overwhelming challenges and setbacks, was not only a fight for their loved ones but a campaign to ensure that such a disaster never happens again.

Their courageous campaign demands our respect and our support . They never stopped searching for answers, for justice, and for some form of peace. We best honour all those who died by ensuring that the voices of their loved ones are heard and acted upon.

“The Government will consider this verdict in full and the recommendations of the jury.

“I want to acknowledge and thank the coroner, and her team and the jurors.

The coroner, Myra Cullinane, told the families that she hoped they make take some solace from the findings of the inquests.

“To the families, I acknowledge the deaths of these 48 young people is a source of ongoing grief to those who loved them and it remains the defining loss of their lives,” she said.

“However, I hope that family members will have taken some solace from the fact that these fresh inquests were held, that the facts surrounding the deaths were examined in detail, that moving testimony was heard from many of those involved in the events of the night and, most importantly, that you the families felt fully involved in proceedings, however difficult it was to hear all of the evidence.”