The families of those who died in the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire are gathering at Dublin coroner’s court today to hear the 48 verdicts as to how and why their loved ones died.
More than 40 years after the tragedy, the foreman of the 12-person jury is announcing the verdicts from 2pm, in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital, where the court has been sitting since April 2023.
More than 90 days of evidence and testimony from 373 witnesses has been heard at the inquiry into the deaths of 48 people, aged 16 to 27, in a fire in the north Dublin ballroom in the early hours of 14th February 1981. Five verdicts are available — accidental, misadventure, unlawful killing, open verdict and narrative.
Family are arriving at the Pillar Room ahead of the 2pm verdicts.
Enda O’Dowd’s video report details the how the Stardust fire unfolded, and the subsequent decades of campaigning undertaken by bereaved families.
Marie O’Halloran has some early comments from the Dáil ahead of the verdict.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin has told the Dáil “my thoughts and all of our thoughts are with the families of those who died in the Stardust tragedy”.
He said the families had pursued justice for more than 40 years.
Mr Martin said that in a couple of hours there would be a verdict in the coroners’ court. “This will be a huge moment for the families and indeed for the entire country because it is seared in the collective consciousness of the Irish people.
He said “the tenacity of the families to secure this inquest has been a service to all”.
Sinn Féin finance spokesman Pearse Doherty also paid tribute to the families
Who faced “many, many obstacles including those put in their way by this State.
“And I hope that the families involved today will get the answers they have been waiting for. And I extend to them my solidarity and the solidarity of everyone in Sinn Féin on this momentous day.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett also extended his “solidarity and support to the families of the 48 who never came home”. He hoped that “they will finally get the truth and justice they deserve after a 40-year long struggle”.
Social Affairs Correspondent Kitty Holland is at the Pillar Room in the Rotunda Hospital, where the inquests have been taking place since last April.
Lots of families are gathering outside and inside the Pillar Room. Laura Millar, whose brother Jim died in the fire, has arrived from Belfast. Jim had moved to Dublin with Robert Hillick – who also died in the fire – to escape the Troubles.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said that he is “ready to interact and engage” with the Stardust families once the verdict in the inquest is handed down later today, Pat Leahy reports.
Speaking in Brussels on the second day of the summit of EU leaders, Mr Harris said he is “extremely conscious of the fact that this must be extraordinary difficult and emotional day for all those involved”, describing them as “people who have sought justice answers and truth for such a long period of time”.
“As Taoiseach I certainly stand ready to interact and engage with those families once the verdict comes through today,” he said. “But let’s have that first.”
Stardust’s 48 victims – who were they?
The inquests into the deaths of the 48 young people who died in the Stardust fire in Artane, Dublin in 1981 feature pen portraits of each of the deceased by bereaved family members. Find all of the portraits and more coverage here.
Inquests heard Stardust exit doors locked or obstructed
The inquests heard evidence alleging, on the night of the fire, exit doors at the Artane, Dublin, nightclub were locked or obstructed; that staff had not been trained in responding to an emergency or how to use fire extinguishers; that windows in toilets had been sealed shut with metal plates and bars; that carpet tiles used to line most of the internal walls were flammable and central to the rapid spread of the blaze; that electrical wiring was faulty; and that the ceiling in the area where the fire was first observed inside the club was below permitted minimum height.
Evidence was also heard that the club was allegedly frequently overcrowded; that there were not enough doormen and some doormen were letting patrons in through side entrances for less than the cover charge at the main door.
Addressing the jury before their deliberations, Dublin coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said: “To sit on this jury brings with it great responsibility, You must approach your task in an objective manner, based on the law … and the facts you have heard in evidence. These are the only considerations for you in reaching your findings.”
She said they must be “dispassionate” and “clinical” and “put emotions aside” adding they were “under no time pressure” to reach their conclusions.
Dr Cullinane, referencing sections 30 and 31 of the Coroner’s Act 1962, told the jury before their deliberations: “Neither the verdict nor any rider to the verdict at an inquest shall contain a censure or exoneration of any person”. A verdict of “unlawful killing” must not attribute criminality or civil liability to any person or organisation, she said.
“The verdicts and findings are about acts and omissions – they are neutral statements about where it happened and how it happened. But not who did or did not do those things,” she said.
There was “a very specific test” they must apply to arrive at an unlawful killing verdict, she continued.
“You must find there has been a failure by a person or people, to a very high degree, to observe such a course of action that experience shows to be necessary, if substantial injury to others is to be avoided … and that such failure was a substantial cause of the death [or deaths].”
This verdict was available only where death occurs “in the most serious of circumstances,” she said and could be returned only where the jury was satisfied “beyond a reasonable doubt that each of the elements of the test … are proven to that legal standard”.
“The facts are for you,” she told the jury. “If you are considering a verdict of unlawful killing the following matters should be borne in mind … You should apply the standards of 1981 in deciding the extent of any failures that arose and not the standards of today.
“You should bear in mind the circumstances the people were facing at the time when they made decisions they made. You may conclude there were serious failures … and each of those failings were of a high degree and that those failings were a substantial cause of the death.”
In considering other verdicts the standard of proof was “on balance of probabilities,” she said provided hypothetical examples of circumstance in which such verdicts could be reached.
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