Stardust hearing convenes to decide on new inquiry

AN EXAMINER appointed by the Government has begun a hearing to decide if there should be a fresh inquiry into the 1981 Stardust fire disaster which caused the deaths of 48 young people in north Dublin.

Paul Coffey SC was appointed earlier this year to conduct the hearing which is being held in private in the Bar Council's Distillery Building in Dublin.

Greg O'Neill, solicitor for the families of the victims, said yesterday he was confident new evidence presented by experts to the hearing would "fully displace" the finding of the 1981 Keane tribunal.

That inquiry found that the fire, which broke out during a St Valentine's Day disco in the early hours of February 14th, 1981, was probably the result of arson.

The tribunal said it was unable to reach a definitive conclusion as to the cause of the fire but that it was more probably started deliberately. It also criticised the fact that some exit doors were locked or obstructed, preventing many people from escaping the inferno.

The families have always refuted the finding of probable arson on the basis the tribunal was not in possession of crucial evidence.

Mr O'Neill said experts retained by the families had assembled detailed forensic and other material to show there was a "considerable fuel load" near the roof space of the premises.

Evidence of molten material dropping from the roof on to people had never tallied with the claim of the deliberate setting on fire of seats, he said.

Mr Coffey heard forensic and scientific evidence from two fire consultants, Robin Knox and Tony Gillick. A detailed computer simulated model of the premises, including each of its rooms, was also before the hearing at which the families were represented by Anthony Sammon SC. A number of relatives of the dead also attended.

The hearing is expected to conclude by the end of this week and Mr Coffey will deliver his report at a later stage.

Mr O'Neill stressed the families want a public inquiry with clear and focused terms of reference to address the issues raised by them in a speedy and cost-effective way. They were not seeking "a blank cheque" but justice and closure and all of the issues to be addressed.

"This was the biggest atrocity in this country," he said. "We are talking about 48 young lives."

This involved an issue of public safety which should have been addressed 27 years ago but had still not been addressed, he added.

Antoinette Keegan, a survivor of the fire in which her sisters Mary and Martina perished and a spokeswoman for the families, attended the hearing with her mother Christine.

"These 48 people deserve justice and truth and we want it on public record," she said.

"Everything should have been done properly from the start, but we have had to fight for compensation, for this hearing, for everything. We should not have had to wait 27 years."

June McDermott, whose brothers William and George and sister Marcella all died in the Stardust fire and whose fireman father died later in 1981, said the families were "extremely nervous" and "just wanted the right outcome".

Eugene Kelly, who lost his brother Robert (17), was clearly distressed after the hearing broke for lunch.

"It's very hard to keep going through this, the politicians have a lot to answer for," he said.

"It's a disgrace how we have been treated down the years, it wouldn't have happened if it was one of theirs; there has been a cover-up."

Gertrude Barrett, who waited four days in the city morgue before the body of her son Michael (17) was identified, said the hearing was "like going back in time" to the 1981 tribunal.

However, she believed the hearing was much more focused. "I always felt in a democracy you are entitled to justice and we have left no stone unturned in trying to get it . . . These 48 young people were reduced to numbers, Michael was number 38, but they are not numbers to any of us," she added.