…Researched and contributed by Enitan Thompson for TDPel Media.
Forty-eight people died in a blaze at the Stardust Ballroom in Dublin on Valentine’s Day in 1981.
Now, the most extensive inquest ever held in Ireland has begun with the coroner reading out the names of all 48 victims.
Families were then given the opportunity to speak about their loved ones.
The first to address the jury was Gertrude Barrett, mother of Michael Barrett, who was followed by Betty Bissett, the mother of 18-year-old Carol Bissett.
Michael Barrett was a 17-year-old apprentice plumber who was working in the nightclub on the night of the fire as an assistant DJ.
In her address to the inquest, Gertrude Barrett described her son’s last moments and her family’s trauma and devastation after his death.
She expressed her belief that her family would never recover from the impact of the Stardust fire and the 40-year fight for justice that has followed.
At the end of her speech, the audience rose to applaud her.
Betty Bissett spoke about the loss of her daughter Carol and the impact it had on her family, friends and community.
She also expressed her regret at not being able to be there for her surviving children.
Her daughter Liz then read a poem she composed about her sister Carol.
After the two pen portraits, the coroner adjourned the proceedings for the day.
The delivery of all the family pen portraits is expected to take three weeks, after which formal evidence will commence.
The full inquest could last up to six months, with around 350 witnesses potentially due to give evidence.
The original inquest in 1982 lasted just five days and recorded the cause of the deaths in accordance with medical evidence, with no reference to the circumstances or the cause of the fire.
After a long campaign by the victims’ families, in 2019 then-attorney general Seamus Woulfe directed that new inquests should take place.
The Stardust fire has had a long-lasting impact on the families of the victims, with many feeling that justice has not been served.
The inquest is a significant step towards providing answers and closure for those affected.