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Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland
Antoinette Keegan who lost her two sisters Mary and Martina in the Stardust fire in 1981.
# 33 years
Stardust families will release ‘new pages’ from review of evidence
The original inquiry into the 1981 fire that killed 48 people in Dublin found that it was caused by probable arson.
FAMILIES OF THOSE who died in the Stardust fire say that they tasked experts to review transcripts of the original inquiry into the case who came to a different conclusion.
The original inquiry into the 1981 fire that killed 48 people in Dublin found that it was caused by probable arson.
A 2009 examination of evidence by barrister Paul Coffey concluded that there would be no public interest for a new inquiry to be established because of the passage of time and no new physical evidence.
But spokesperson for the Victims’ Committee Antoinette Keegan says that they will tomorrow release pages from the independent review of the case which they say recommends a new inquiry.
The families say that the information they intend to release has ‘not been made public before’.
The Victims Committee also say that it was not within the remit of the Coffey report to determine the cause of the fire.
As a result, they say that the Government can not point to the review as a reason to disagree with their their claim that there is new evidence in the case.
The Department of Justice (DoJ)say that they have seen nothing to suggest anything different to the conclusion of the 2009 Coffey inquiry.
Keegan says that they have contacted the DoJ to request a copy of the terms of reference of the Coffey report.
The DoJ say that the Victims’ Committee has previously been advised that requests for access to records can be made by submitting an FOI request in the normal way.
They also say that the terms of reference for the Coffey examination of the inquiry are included in his report which is still available and were made available to the committee at the time.
The families’ continuing campaign comes after Minister for Justice Alan Shatter again ruled out another inquiry into the tragedy.
Read: Stardust families “will reveal cause of fire” on 33rd anniversary >
Read: No new inquiry into Stardust tragedy >
