Stardust Inquiry to enter new phase

On Valentine's day 1981, at approximately 1.30 am in The Stardust Night Club Artane, winners of the Valentine's disco dancing dancing competition took to the stage to give a demonstration and collect their prizes. Some people in the audience began to notice smoke in a closed off area, some thought it was dry ice as part of the performance.

By 1.45 am, the 'dry ice' has spread. Aided by the carpet lined walls and the polyurethane-stuffed seats, fire roared across the main ballroom of the Stardust nightclub, filling the dance hall with viscous, toxic black smoke. There were 840 young people in the nightclub. 48 of them died that night. Over 100 people were injured. Of the 48 who died, half were aged 18 or younger. The oldest victims were not much more than 21. They were kids.

In 2019, after a tireless campaign by the families of the Stardust Fire victims, then Attorney General Seamus Woulfe announced a new inquest would take place into the events that took place at the Stardust nightclub on February 14th 1981. In April of 2023, this inquest began under the supervision of senior coroner Dr Myra Cullinane began.

In front of Dr Myra Cullinane, and a jury of 13 people, the inquiry opened with a series of 'pen portraits' written by the bereaved families. These portraits were character descriptions of the deceased, described by the people who loved them most. For the families of the deceased, the wound is still open 40 years after the fire.

After this came the first module of evidence where testimony was given by staff and management of the nightclub. This evidence was given in person, but also some of it was presented as statements read into the record by deceased witnesses.

This module focused on the policies around the locking of doors, the condition of the building and the furnishings,  and the immediate aftermath of the fire. The people speaking at this point were mostly management, people who had a responsibility to the young people attending the nightclub.

Last Tuesday however, the inquiry moved into a new phase. This phase was the evidence given by the survivors of the fire. While these people may have escaped physically unscathed, it is clear from the harrowing testimony that they too are victims of the events of Valentine's day 1981.

Victims described horrific scenes as teenagers tried to exit via fire doors but finding them padlocked, windows were barred, and exits were obstructed.

One witness Paula Toner described hearing loud screaming and noises of people trying to escape via the toilet windows.

She told the court that somebody had tied ropes around the bars of the windows outside and tied the other end to a white van in an effort to get the bars off.

"The bars didn't come off," Paula Toner said.

She said that then 'everything just went quiet'. The silence echoed, the hands disappeared she said, and the shouting stopped. She said they 'knew' what was happening inside.

It is expected that portion of the inquests will not be as lengthy as the previous "staff and management" module. Ongoing witnesses are expected to spend around 30 minutes in front of the jury giving evidence.

After this module there will be evidence heard from first responders, and experts before the jury retires to consider its verdict. However the testimony which commenced last week serves as the important human backbone to any technical consideration, 48 people died, and hundreds more were scarred for life. This inquiry has been 42 years in the making.