The devastating blaze at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Dublin, broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 1981.
A verdict of unlawful killing has been returned by the jury in the Stardust fire inquests for all 48 people who died in the 1981 Dublin nightclub disaster.
The devastating blaze at the Stardust nightclub in Artane, north Dublin, broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day 1981.
The jury foreman said it had reached the same verdict into the deaths of each individual.
Some family members of the victims jumped to their feet and clapped at the verdict, while others were moved to tears as they remained in their seat.
Others embraced each other as soon as the foreman said “unlawful killing”.
Directed by Ireland’s then-attorney general Seamus Woulfe, the inquests have been the longest held in Ireland, with proceedings commencing a year ago.
The foreman of the jury told coroner Myra Cullinane on Wednesday that majority verdicts had been reached after 11 days of deliberation.
The coroner deferred the delivery of the verdicts until Thursday so family members could gather at Dublin District Coroner’s Court to hear the result.
Speaking in Brussels on Thursday morning, Irish premier Simon Harris said: “I’m extremely conscious of the fact that this must be an extraordinarily difficult and emotional day for all of the families involved, 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.”
In the Irish parliament, Leaders’ Questions at noon began with Irish deputy premier Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein’s Pearse Doherty stating that their thoughts were with the families of those who died in the Stardust club.
“They have waited, as we all know, four decades for answers to what happened to their loved ones at that time, and they faced many, many obstacles including those put in their way by this state,” Mr Doherty said.
Mr Martin said: “My thoughts and all of our thoughts are with the families of those who died in the Stardust tragedy in 1981,.”
“This will be a huge moment for the families and indeed for the entire country because the Stardust tragedy is seared on the collective consciousness of the Irish people and the tenacity of the families and their success in securing this inquest has been a service to all in society.”
