A JURY AT the Dublin District Coroner’s Court has been shown “extremely graphic” material of the night a fatal fire swept through the Stardust nightclub, including images of emergency service workers tending to the victims.
The jury at the inquest into the fire that killed 48 people in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 1981, were also told today that the inquest has concluded for the year and will resume on January 9 next.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said that clips of audiovisual material would be shown to the jury, containing evidence that has already been heard. She said that this visual material is important for the jury in terms of their experience of the evidence.
“One is extremely graphic and I’m not proposing to allow remote access to it and will be asking anyone not directly related to remove themselves from the courtroom,” said Dr Cullinane.
She informed the jury that also amongst the video was previously recorded clips of television material and the people involved would be describing their experience of February 13/14, 1981. During the inquest, the jury heard evidence from numerous witnesses who said that exit doors in the nightclub were chained and locked that night.
“My conscience is clear in so far that I did everything possible from the day that place opened to make it as safe as possible,” Mr Butterly said in the television clip.
Dr Cullinane told the jury that the last footage they would see contained graphic detail from the exterior of the Stardust.
“This is a difficult task that you have to understand the evidence and in the opinion of the court, the viewing of this material assists you in understanding the totality of the evidence that’s before you,” she said.
Earlier in the day, the jury heard the evidence of Pauline Murray, a patron of the Stardust who was with Josephine Glen on the night, one of the people who lost their lives.
In her original statement, which was read into the record by the court registrar, Ms Murray said that she saw smoke on the ceiling, so she ran to the table to get her friend Josephine. She said that a man she knew named Niall Campbell caught both her and Josephine by the hand and brought them towards exit five.
“I could feel the heat on my face and hands as I was going to the exit. We got over chairs and got to the small bar, then the lights went out. My hand slipped from Campbell’s hand and I fell. There were people walking over me and I could hardly breathe. The place was black with smoke. I was on the floor and could not get up, and I did not know where I was,” she said.
Ms Murray said that she got up and a young man grabbed her and took her outside. She said there was broken glass around the exit. She was burnt on her hands, arms, back, chest, neck, face and right leg, and her hair was singed and burnt.
In response to questioning by Kate Hanley BL, representing nine of the families, including Josephine Glen, Ms Murray said that she saw someone pull up the shutter of the partitioned-off area of the nightclub and she could see a fire in the corner.
“Niall Campbell grabbed our hands, but as he grabbed our hands, mine slipped… All I could hear was Josephine screaming my name. That’s the last that I heard of Josephine,” she said.
“All I remember is my hand falling from his and the crowds running. It was pitch black… I didn’t even know there were exits… Crowds were running around us, and my hand fell from his. All I could hear was Josephine scream.”
Ms Murray said that the smoke from the fire was thick and heavy.
“It was like throwing a person on a fire, like you’re melting, you could feel the skin rolling down off you. When I fell on the floor, there was a ring of people all lying down on top of each other. I was going into a deep sleep, I couldn’t feel any more pain,” said Ms Murray, becoming emotional during this part of her evidence as she recounted how she thought about her mother who was six months pregnant at the time.
She said that she knew Josephine was holding Niall Campbell’s hand and screaming.
“I think she started screaming when everything went black, she got a fright, like we all did. I will never forget them screams, calling my name,” said Ms Murray, adding that: “The last time I saw her was before that darkness came.”
In response to questioning by Joe Brolly BL, Ms Murray said that when she first noticed the smoke coming across the ceiling, it was “like a fog”.
“Someone pulled the shutter up and I noticed a fire in the corner, and all of a sudden it shot right across the ceiling,” said Ms Murray, going on to say that it was like “a fireball” that shot across before everything went black. She said she was knocked down by the crowd as she tried to make her way to an exit.
The inquest will now resume on 9 January next year, and Dr Cullinane thanked the jury in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital for their attention and diligence up to this point.
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