Families of Stardust victims delighted and relieved there will be a fresh inquest

Families of those killed in the Stardust blaze in Dublin have expressed relief and delight at the decision of the attorney general to order a fresh inquest into the deaths of the 48 victims.

After decades of campaigning for justice, Antoinette Keegan of the Stardust Victims Committee, who lost her two sisters Mary (19) and Martina (16) in the fire, said she was in disbelief at the move. "I'm over the moon, I just can't believe it's happened. I really believed we would be fobbed off again."

Ms Keegan has been to the forefront for almost four decades of efforts to uncover the truth of what happened at the St Valentine’s Day disco at the Stardust nightclub in north Dublin, in the early hours of Saturday, February 14th, 1981.

During that time the families have suffered “a lot of setbacks”, in the words of Minster of State Finian McGrath, as a number of State-ordered inquiries failed to get to the bottom of the tragedy.

The fire broke out shortly after 1.30am, apparently in a first-floor store room containing drums of cooking oil, sodium-chlorate toilet cleaner, reams of paper napkins and plastic cutlery.

Within minutes temperatures inside soared, and PVC-coated fabric on seating, carpet tiles on walls and inflammable ceiling material all ignited.

A fireball swept through the club spewing smoke and molten debris on more than 800 young revellers inside, mostly from Artane, Kilmore and Coolock.

As well as the 48 dead, more than 200 people were physically injured and countless others traumatised for life.

Some of the dead were so badly charred they could not be identified until more than a quarter of a century later using DNA techniques.

Exit doors

A tribunal of inquiry set up in the immediate aftermath, chaired by Mr Justice Ronan Keane, found the “more probable explanation of the fire is that it was caused deliberately” and “probably started [on a seat] in the west alcove”. This was always rejected by the families.

The inquiry heard evidence that it was the practice at the club to keep some emergency exit doors padlocked and chained shut at least until midnight.

Because of the finding of probable arson, families of the dead and survivors were unable to sue the club owners and operators for alleged negligence.

Eamon Butterly was leaseholder and manager on the night of the fire. In June 1983, two Butterly companies brought a claim seeking £3 million from Dublin Corporation. The Circuit Court judge dealing with the claim found in their favour and, eschewing any probability as to the cause of the blaze, declared he was satisfied the fire was indeed malicious.

The companies were awarded damages of £581,000 (more than €730,000).

In 2009, a government-ordered report by Paul Coffey SC found there was no evidence to prove the cause of the fire was arson. He also concluded that, due to the passage of time and lack of physical evidence as to what had happened, it would not be in the public interest to reopen an inquiry.

A further investigation by retired judge Mr Justice Patrick McCartan in 2017 found there should be no new inquiry. Families rejected his report at the time, describing it as “rude, aggressive and irrational”.

In April this year, under a new legal team, families submitted new evidence to the attorney general, and formally requested a fresh inquest be held.

Despite voicing concerns on Tuesday that they were being “fobbed off”, the families reacted with delight when on Thursday attorney general Séamus Woulfe wrote to them saying a new inquest will be held because of an “insufficiency of inquiry” in the original inquests.

First step

Maurice McHugh, who lost his only child Caroline McHugh (17) in the fire, said he “had a lump in my throat when I heard the news”.

“We have to start somewhere and this is the first step,” he said.

Selina McDermott, whose two brothers William (22) and George (19) died along with their 16-year-old sister Marcella, said the decades-long campaign was tough but had finally paid off.

“I was in my sister June’s house when we got the news… June burst out crying. All the pain we’ve been put through, all the stuff we’ve gone through for the truth. This is what we fought for, campaigned for, and what we wanted.”