A new inquest into the deaths of 48 people killed in the fire in the Stardust nightclub, in Artane, north Dublin in 1981 has begun.
The Stardust fire, which occurred during a Valentine’s Day disco, was the worst fire disaster in the history of the State. Follow live reporting below.
The inquest is expected to be the most extensive ever held in Ireland and followed decades of campaigning from the families of victims. The first hearing on Tuesday will hear from the relatives of those who died in the fire who will read out pen portraits of those who died.
Here is some previous reporting on the Stardust fire for context:
Social Affairs correspondent Kitty Holland has a detailed longread on the Stardust fire on the 40th anniversary of the tragedy here.
A comprehensive timeline covering the disaster and much of the families’ decades-long efforts to find justice can be read here.
The High Court late last year rejected a legal challenge from Eamon Butterly, the nightclub’s former manager, seeking to exclude ‘unlawful killing’ as a possible verdict at the inquest. You can read a report of the ruling here.
That concludes our live reporting on the first day of the Stardust inquest, however social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland will have a detailed report on the first hearing later today on irishtimes.com
Dr Cullinane says the inquest is now to conclude after hearing the pen portrait of Ms Bissett.
The coroner says she recognised today had been difficult for families to “find themselves comfortable” in the inquest setting. On most days the inquest plans to hear up to four portraits of the victims a day, she says.
The inquest is to resume on Wednesday from 11am.
“If you had a friend in Carol you had a friend for life”, her mother Betty Bissett says.
“I lost my child and couldn’t be there for the rest. I never stop wondering where would she be in her life today. Would she have had children?” she says.
The inquest resumes, as the family of Carol Bissett read out a pen portrait of her and her life.
Retired RTÉ broadcaster Charlie Bird, who reported from the scene on the night of the fire, was at the Garden of Remembrance this morning to show his support for the families, with Antoinette Keegan and Bridget McDermott, who both have long campaigned for justice for their family members who died.
The inquest is now to break until 2pm, when it will hear from more families of victims of the fire.
The trauma of the loss of her son was compounded by what became “a 40 year fight for justice”, Gertrude Barrett says.
Life after the fire had been “tainted and tarnished” the Stardust tragedy, she says.
“It saddened us to our core that he never got the chance to fulfil his potential in life ... A life ended before it even had the chance to begin.
“Rest in peace Michael, he miss you and everything about you every day,” his mother says.
Gertrude says she spent four days in the Dublin city morgue, waiting for the body of her son to be identified. “There are no words ... I will never forget the callousness of it all”, she says.
When his body was released, she only saw a coffin.
“I am forever haunted by the thoughts of his final moments. Did he call out for help? How frightened was he? Did he know he was going to die?”, she asks.
The Stardust fire “ripped through the core of our beings”, his mother says. “Nothing was ever the same again”.
Up until the night of the fire, Gertrude says the family had a good life, but 13th February 1981 would be “the last day of life as we knew it”.
She recalls travelling to the Garda station, where along with other families they were looking for their children.
“The sheer volume of grief, the tears, the crying, the unknown, the mayhem, the chaos,” she says.
Michael Barrett was an “absolute pet of a person,” who was happy go lucky and had a wicked sense of humour, his mother says
He was optimistic and positive about his life, with “dreams, hopes and wishes for his future”, she says.
Football and DJing were his hobbies. “I will forever wonder would Michael have had a part-time job as a DJ and a full-time job as a plumber, or a full-time job as a DJ and a part-time job as a plumber,” Gertrude says.
In the first pen portrait, Gertrude Barrett tells the inquest her son Michael was a “great son, a kind son”, who had “wisdom beyond his years”.
He was in the Stardust nightclub working as an assistant DJ on the night.
“For much a short life Michael left an impression on people he met, be it for a minute a day, or a week,” his mother says.
He was always smiling, with an infectious laugh, she says.
Dr Cullinane reads into the record the names of the 48 people who died in the tragedy.
Kitty Holland is reporting from the inquest hearing:
There were no objections from any of the legal teams to the 15 person jury empaneled on 17th April.
Families are in the court to hear the pen portraits of victims, while evidence will begin to be heard in early June.
Gertrude Barrett, whose 17-year-old son Michael was killed in the fire, is expected to be the first to read out a pen portrait.
The Dublin coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, has begun the first hearing of the inquest, which will feature pen portraits from families of those who died.
An initial tribunal of inquiry in November 1981 ruled the “more probable explanation” for the fire was that it was started deliberately. The families of those who died have always strongly rejected the finding.
In 2019 the Government announced a fresh inquest into the deaths would take place, following decades of campaigning from the families of victims.
Ahead of the inquest opening in the Rotunda Hospital, families of victims gathered at the Garden of Remembrance on Tuesday morning.
