The 48 people who died in the fire Family photo Family photo

GARDA COMMISSIONER DREW Harris has said that Gardaí are reviewing two files submitted to the DPP in respect to the Stardust fire, after an inquest returned a verdict of unlawful killing in all 48 deaths in the tragedy.

At a Policing Authority meeting today, Harris was asked if the inquest verdict had any implications for gardaí, and whether there was potential for a “new criminal investigation”. 

Harris extended his sympathies to the Stardust families for the “trauma and grief” they have endured. 

He said that in the wake of the verdict, Gardaí from the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation have been asked to in effect revisit the two investigation files that gardaí submitted to the Director of Public Prosecutions in the early 1980s and then in 2016. 

Harris acknowledged that the verdict has “brought our investigations back to the fore”. 

He explained that the coroner will submit a report on the inquest to the gardaí in the coming weeks. 

Harris said that a Detective Inspector has been based in Coolock over the years who have been in contact with the families of victims, and that this has at times been a “very active” role, which a lot of information will also be sourced from.