A CANDLELIT vigil to remember victims of the Stardust fire was held in Artane, Dublin, last night, marking the 30th anniversary of the tragedy.
Night-lights, one for each of the 48 lives lost, flickered in the darkness as up to 100 family and friends of the dead and injured gathered at the site for a vigil of prayers and music.
A further 200 people were injured by the blaze which broke out in the Stardust nightclub in the early hours of Valentine’s Day in 1981.
Organiser of the event Antoinette Keegan lost her teenage sisters Mary and Martina in the disaster, while her brother John was luckily refused entry on the night. Ms Keegan said, “we’re still waiting for a criminal investigation, we want a public apology from the Irish State for interfering in our judicial rights and we’re waiting for the inquest to be re-opened so that we can have verdicts recorded.
“We’re waiting for the government, whoever it may be, to do this so that we can get justice and we can get closure.” Ms Keegan said the case was now with the European Court of Human Rights, “No one has ever been prosecuted,” she added.
The original finding of a tribunal of inquiry was that the cause was probable arson. However- two years ago the Government corrected the public record to state there was no evidence the Stardust fire was started deliberately.
DJ on the night of the fire Colm O’Brien from Malahide, returned from Boston for the vigil. Recalling events, Mr O’Brien said, “I was standing on the stage and I saw something coming down from the ceiling and the seat going up in smoke… I was announcing that people should go to the nearest exit, but within 30 seconds, people started rushing towards the stage saying they couldn’t get out.”
Addressing the group, Fr Kevin Moore of Bonnybrook parish said “we gather this evening in a place that is sacred to the memory of those who died, sacred to the families who will never forget that terrible, horrible night and sacred to those who were injured and who still live with the horror and dread of what happened.”
Fr Moore said, “We pray tonight that lessons have been learned.” Betty Bissett held a candle in memory of her 18-year-old daughter Carol who made it out of the fire but died some days after from her injuries.
“They were at a door but they couldn’t get out,” said Mrs Bissett. “Someone needs to be made accountable for her death. No- one has apologised. All I ever wanted was an apology.”
