We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A GROUP REPRESENTING relatives and friends of the victims of 1981′s Stardust fire disaster has submitted a list of ‘insults’ towards the 48 victims of the disaster.
The submission, entitled “Insults towards the Stardust 48 Fatal Victims” was handed in to the office of Attorney General Máire Whelan on Wednesday 21 September by independent TD and government minister Finian McGrath.
48 people died and 214 were injured in the fire that engulfed the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Dublin, in the early hours of Valentine’s Day, 14 February 1981.
The Stardust Victims Committee submission claims to outline all the ‘errors and omissions’ made by both the 1981 Keane tribunal and 2009 Coffey review of evidence regarding the tragedy.
The committee is hoping that the coroner’s inquest into the Stardust deaths will be reopened so that “closure can be given for their loved ones”, it said in a statement.
Currently no verdict is recorded on the coroner’s certificate concerning those deaths.
A response is due back to the committee from the Attorney General in due course according to McGrath’s office.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
The legal decisions taken by the judiciary were a disgrace whereby they excluded some victims from compensation because they did not ‘appear’ to be affected as others to the loss of loved ones. This was a cheap and cruel way to save the state money because the Butterly ‘s avoided blame for their negligence and the state washed their hands of the matter through the judiciary
There was a rotten stink about the Stardust , from the operation of a closed factory as a nightclub, the fire certification, & the reporting of the accident as maliciously caused.
Perhaps this review will expose more of the truth.
Thirty five years of being fobbed off and shat on because of people having political connections. Cronies before victims. Disgusting.
RIP to all that lost they’re life’s
@John R: explain the right to life an obligation by the state that cannot be ignored. The fire according to the public record started on a seat. Yet the truth and evidence proves beyond any reasonable doubt this fire was well established in the roof space first. According to the right to life the state has no alternative but to correct the public record. As regards a minister and a judge why defend their incompetence as they do not have the intellect or ability to address this. Coffey two reports Irish times article have 60 plus alterations in them. The source of ignition was changed to put the source on a seat. This person lacks the ability to remain impartial and independent. Now he is appointed a judge by a lame duck government and appalled by a Minister of Justice way out of their dept. She has to resign.
As for Judge Ronan Keane’s “probable arson” finding, he never pointed the finger of blame at any person or group of people. Therefore, the idea that people who attended the Stardust disco on that tragic night were suspected of starting the fire is absurd.
It shouldn’t be about money for people though
It is very hurting and hard to believe that this Irish State we live in, have still done nothing to give families closure after such a long battle to get the truth on public record.
From my own families point of view we are still hurting to the fact that our loved ones Mary and Martina were not only bagged, tagged and labelled victim number 7 and 21 but were also labelled as arsonists for 28 years and not once did the government apologise for the hurt every family has been through. I bet if this tragedy had affected some higher class citizens rather than working class this would have been well sorted.
Well done Robin you’ve managed to libel both a Government Minister and a Judge in the one post. Quite an achievement. Just because you disagree with people doesn’t make them corrupt.
After such a long passage of time and the absence of forensics the likelihood that we will ever discover what actually happened is extremely unlikely.
have your say