“I heard the DJ say there’s a – don’t panic – there’s a fire at the back just there. Be careful, we’re all going to get out of there. Go to the exits and that. When he was saying that everything just went black.” Errol Buckley

JUST AFTER 1.40am in the early hours of Saturday 14 February 1981, the alarm was raised that there was a fire in the Stardust.

Under a curtain separating a small area of the club from the main ballroom, people could see a small fire on a row of seats. But that fire was beginning to spread rapidly.

Within minutes, the entire club was ablaze.

The lights failed, plunging the Stardust into darkness as the roof began to collapse.

In Episode Three of TheJournal.ie‘s Stardust podcast, people there that night describe the situation they were facing as panic descended.

You’ll hear about the locked door barring some people’s exit, a crush to get out the main entrance and the desperate attempts of emergency services to rescue those trapped inside.

You’ll hear the memories of courageous survivors, some of them telling their story of being there that night publicly for the first time on one of the darkest nights in Ireland’s modern history.

Find episode one here.

Find episode two here.

You can listen to the podcast below, or listen to it wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you hear, please give us a rating and review.

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Source: Stardust/SoundCloud

Search for Stardust or TheJournal.ie on your favourite podcast app. Can’t find it? Email nicky@thejournal.ie.

Stardust is presented by Sean Murray, produced by Nicky Ryan with executive producer Christine Bohan. Image in cover art by PA Images.