A gathering at the site of the Stardust nightclub fire, where 48 young people died 40 years ago, heard fresh calls for the truth to be told and expressed hope that an upcoming inquest might finally give victims’ families the answers they have been seeking for decades.
Some of those attending the low-key commemoration wore black face masks with the number 48 and the word “Truth” on them.
Similar masks were worn by a team of firefighters from Dublin Fire Brigade who attended, signalling the end of a minute’s silence with a fire siren.
The names of those who died in the fire were read out, and small plaques featuring their names and their photographs were attached to the wall of the building in Artane, north Dublin, that now sits on the site of the blaze.
Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Mary and Martina, said the pictures were a reminder “for the world to see how much they were loved by their families and how much they are all missed”.
In November 1981 a tribunal of inquiry into the disaster concluded that the fire was probably caused by arson and effectively exonerated the owners of the nightclub.
It was disputed by survivors and victims’ families, who have campaigned for a fresh inquiry ever since. In 2019 it was announced that new inquests would be held.
Among those at the event were Louise and Celina McDermott, whose brothers William and George and sister Marcella died in the blaze. “There is always such emotion around this time of year but I think it is different because of the inquest,” Celina said.
She pointed to how Covid-19 had shaped the 40th anniversary . “We couldn’t even bring our mother up to the cemetery to visit their graves this year because of restrictions.”
Later, when addressing the gathering, Ms McDermottt said “this year we believe we will get justice and the truth about what happened.”
‘We want closure’
“It is hard to believe it has been 40 years,” said Angela Kenny, whose sister Mary died in the fire. “She was the eldest in the family and had been helping me to write a Valentine’s card. We were going to finish it the next day but she didn’t come home.”
She also expressed hope that the inquest would bring some level of comfort to the families of those who perished. “We just want closure so they can rest in peace.”
Siobhán Dunne said she was at the event for her brother Liam, who was 18 when he died in the fire. “We never got justice. I am his voice and he will rest in peace when we get justice and the truth.”
At a live-streamed memorial Mass to mark the anniversary of the fire, Archbishop of Dublin Dermot Farrell said so many families had “endured enormous suffering and today are reliving the horror of that night, which is seared into the hearts and memories of a generation”.
He said a “whole community was traumatised in the horror of that dreadful night. The lives of so many have been blighted by the loss of those young people, who were so full of hope and promise. That grievous loss has been compounded by their long quest for a full account of the tragedy that satisfies their need for truth.”
