Justice and truth at last for the Stardust victims and their families..
The piercing sirens of the emergency service on that awful Saturday morning were followed by the smell of toxic smoke and the gaunt looks on horrified faces as daylight broke across the streets of Dublin that Valentine’s Day morning. The eerie silence and hushed conversations among strangers left early risers stunned as the news circulated of the enormous tragedy which had occurred on the northside of Dublin.
The realisation that so many families were receiving the worst news imaginable at that moment was difficult to process, the empty beds, the panic visits to overcrowded and chaotic hospitals, garda stations and morgues. The images of funerals, distraught and traumatised families and survivors and the growing questions.
Yet the years of opportunities to seek the truth are missed and decades waiting for justice passes. The initial Keane Inquiry, held by Justice Ronan Keane (later appointed Chief Justice of Ireland), published his tribunal’s 633 page report in June 1982. The report condemned the “reckless disregard” of the owners of the Stardust Complex for the safety of the people on the premises. The Keane Tribunal was satisfied that the policy of the Stardust owners in keeping the fire exit doors chained and locked until at least midnight was unacceptable.
However it also concluded that the fire was probably caused by arson rather than an accident. This added to the pain of the families as it implied that the kids may have set the fire. This finding wounded the families deeply and disturbed many normal people. The finding that arson was the probable cause opened the way for the Stardust owners to succeed in their claim for compensation and they received about £580,000. The Tribunal cost in total about £1.75 million.
A later review of the decision by barrister, Paul Coffey in 2008 requested that the finding of arson should be removed from the public record, but the damage had been done. A further review in 2017 of the Stardust by Judge Pat McCartan concluded that “no new inquiry is warranted”.
Then glimpses of vigils and marches and protests on dark and dreary February nights grew. People telling the stories of the losses of their loved ones. The country was slowly putting names to and faces on and examining the ordinary lives of the 48 young people who lost their lives. They were becoming very real people in the wider public mind to many.
Many people supposed that they could have been my children and would demand answers too! Why were their pleas for justice being ignored? There was a nagging realisation that the bubble of “Official Ireland” was happy to move on and the working class families and survivors should let things rest.
And yet every visit one made to a pub, a concert, a musical event or nightclub brought the Stardust to mind as the exit signs and the exit doors were sought out immediately on arrival at venues. Some dodgy places were never visited again due to fears for safety in the event of a fire.
The very word “Stardust” no longer meant joy and happiness, its meaning had changed forever, it now stood for the 48 children who never came home. There had been a Stardust club locally in which U2 had played their first gig in Cork and in which thousands of Cork people had danced over the years, but it had been largely forgotten as the word became synonymous with the Stardust fire disaster in Dublin. Even Valentine’s Day itself, an expectant day of love and hope was never quite the same. It was now an anniversary and became tinged with sadness across Ireland; that fire and its consequences was seared into the deep collective memory of so many.
But Christine and John Keegan, who had lost two young daughters, Mary and Martina and nearly a third, Antoinette, along with some friends began to demand real answers rather than accept political promises to do something sometime. They founded the Stardust Victims’ Committee and the campaign for the truth began in earnest.
Maurice and Phyllis McHugh, whose only daughter Caroline perished in the fire also worked with quiet dignity along with many other family members and supporters. This activism across the community added to the growing clamour and calls for justice. The publication of a book, “they never came home, the Stardust Story” (2001) by Neil Fetherstonhaugh and Tony McCullagh with a foreword by singer, Christy Moore, which concentrated on the victims and survivors stories helped to raise further awareness. Yet, the bereaved families continued to experience so many setbacks, so many doors slammed in their faces, so much evasiveness and excuses and delays, however they kept on campaigning and demanding basic answers.
Never has such a small powerful political elite, shown such a lack of empathy and understanding for ordinary people who were suffering the loss of their children in such circumstances. The working class community in which the children and their parents came from were simply ignored by those in charge of government.
Following further submissions from a legal firm engaged by the Stardust families, the then Attorney General of Ireland, Seamus Woulfe announced in September 2019, that a new inquest would be held and that this would look at all the evidence again as if it was completely new and for the very first time. The inquest began on April 25th 2023 under the Dublin District Senior Coroner, Dr. Myra Cullinane.
Finally at 2.50 pm on Thursday 18th April 2024 after 122 days, the Stardust Inquest jury foreman announced the verdict of “Unlawful Killing” for everyone of the 48 children. Their family members and relatives and their neighbours cried with joy with sheer relief at the vindication. The truth and justice came dripping very slow indeed!
But they had been believed at last. after 15769 days!
In 2020 the Cork Mother Jones Committee decided unanimously to honour the extraordinary efforts of the Stardust Victims’ Committee and the Justice for the 48 committee by asking Christine Keegan to accept the Spirit Of Mother Jones Award. We felt so honoured when she said yes ! But then Covid arrived and our July festival was cancelled.
The valiant and resilient Christine Keegan sadly passed away on the 14th July 2020.
On 29th July 2022, the 2020 Spirit of Mother Jones award was presented to Christine’s daughter Antoinette Keegan at a ceremony during the festival. The annual award is a Children of Lir figure.
Extract from the Spirit of Mother Jones Award citation:
‘Antoinette and her late mother Christine and father John have pursued answers to what happened at the Stardust fire on 14th February 1981, where 48 young people, including Antoinette’s sisters Mary and Martina lost their lives. In spite of her own injuries, the loss of her sisters and the failure of the Public Authorities to provide answers, Antoinette has continued to actively campaign to uncover the full truth of the events of that night. She is an inspiration to so many!’
Following the announcement of the verdict, the Stardust families and their supporters emerged into the Dublin daylight and marched proudly to the nearby Garden of Remembrance singing all the while “You’ll Never Walk Alone’. After the hugs and celebrations and the realisation that the truth was now before Ireland and the world they gathered in front of the monument to the Children of Lir designed by Oisín Kelly which symbolises rebirth. resurrection and reincarnation.
Nearby in the Garden of Remembrance are the words of the Aisling, “We Saw a Vision” by Liam Mac Uistín written in stone alongside.
Some extracts include,
“In the darkness of despair we saw a vision
We lit the light of hope and it was not extinguished
In the desert of discouragement we saw a vision”
“We melted the snow of lethargy and the river of resurrection flowed from it.”
“We set out a vision aswim like a swan on the river.
The vision became a reality”
It seem fitting that the Stardust families, survivors and supporters should have marched proudly to the Garden of Remembrance nearing the end of their long journey.
A full state apology was delivered by An Taoiseach, Simon Harris in Dáil Eireann on Tuesday 23rd April 2024. The Stardust family members were present in the Dáil to hear the apology.
https://www.gov.ie/en/speech/9e250-state-apology-delivered-by-taoiseach-simon-harris-in-dail-eireann
https://www.rte.ie/history/stardust/#panel-pen-portraits-the-stardust-victims-remembered
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival 