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LAST UPDATE | 18 Apr 2024
THE JURY IN the Stardust inquests today delivered verdicts of unlawful killing in the case of all 48 victims who died.
Family members and the jury attended the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin city centre for the verdicts.
A massive cheer broke out in the room when the foreman announced the verdict.
The jury also determined that the fire that led to the deaths of 48 people in 1981 started in the hot press on the nightclub’s premises.
The inquests into their deaths began in April 2023. The jury heard 95 days of direct evidence from 373 witnesses.
The inquests are the longest ever held in Ireland. You can read our extensive coverage here.
Updates by Hayley Halpin and Órla Ryan
When the jury yesterday said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said she could accept a majority verdict in these circumstances – i.e. one that at least seven of the jury agreed upon.
When the jury later confirmed they had reached a majority verdict, Dr Cullinane said she wished to defer the announcement of their verdicts and findings to attend to certain administrative matters.
She also said she wished to allow all interested persons and family members to have an opportunity to make arrangements either to attend court or to observe the proceedings online when the verdicts are delivered.
“You must not on any account discuss your deliberations or your findings and verdicts before you return, as that would undermine the entire process that you’ve been engaged in and in which you’ve been so central, and could even amount to a contempt of court,” Dr Cullinane said.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has said he “stands ready” to engage with the families of those who died in the fire once the outcome of the inquests is announced.
“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,” he said.
When asked if there was anything the Government could do following the verdicts, Harris said: “Let’s have [the verdict] first, out of respect to the families and their long-standing campaign for truth and justice.”
The inquests, which began in April last year, heard 95 days of direct evidence from 373 witnesses.
Earlier this month the jury returned to court briefly to ask Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane for clarification on some issues, including the standard of proof to be applied for each of the verdicts available.
The panel also asked the coroner to give further examples of each of the verdicts they have been asked to consider.
Dr Cullinane told the jurors that the verdicts they can return are:
The coroner told the jury that the standard of proof to be applied for verdicts of accidental death, death by misadventure and a narrative verdict was “on the balance of probabilities, more likely than not”.
She said some commentators might put a percentage on it of 51% versus 49%.
In relation to unlawful killing, she said the standard of proof to be applied for a finding of this verdict was different to the others. She said the legal test the jury must apply was the “beyond a reasonable doubt” test before they can record a verdict of unlawful killing.
Over 15 days last year, the jury heard descriptions of all 48 people who died in the 1981 nightclub fire, read out by friends and family.
The testimony contained a significant amount of details on the lives of the deceased, the events of the night, and the impact of the fire on families.
Speaking at the conclusion of these pen portraits at the Dublin District Coroner’s Court on 18 May 2023, Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said:
“There was extreme sadness, of course, but occasional humour, which was equally moving given the loss that has been experienced.
“The presentations brought home to all of us [...] the impact of this disaster on so many lives.
“I sincerely thank the families for allowing us to participate in their most private and treasured memories.”
The final pen portrait delivered at the sitting last May was for Margaret Thornton (19).
Patricia Greene, one of Margaret’s sisters, painted a vibrant picture of their upbringing. She spoke of regular visits to the North Strand cinema, getting chips after a trip to Dollymount beach, and doing chores at their grandmother’s house surrounded by family.
Patricia said Margaret “loved her music and concerts, going out with her family and friends and doting on her nieces and nephew”.
She was enjoying her newfound independence becoming a young woman, making plans and having dreams.
After the fire, Patricia said she “spent years just waiting for [Margaret] to come through the door”.
She continued: “To say I miss her would be an understatement. I think a part of all of us died that day but – for our mother – I think the best part of her died with her youngest daughter, Margaret. I don’t think she was ever happy again… it destroyed her.”
The inquests, which began in April 2023, heard 95 days of direct evidence from 373 witnesses.
The inquests are the longest ever held in Ireland. You can read our extensive coverage here.
A number of TDs raised the inquests in the Dáil this afternoon, Jane Matthews reports from Leinster House.
Pearse Doherty opened Leaders’ Questions by paying tribute to the families of those who died in the Stardust tragedy in 1981.
“Before I begin, our thoughts are with the families of those who lost their lives in the Stardust fire.
The families of those who lost their lives in the Stardust fire have waited over four decades for answers to what happened to their loved ones.
“They have faced many obstacles, including those put in their way by the State,” Doherty said.
“I hope that families involved will today get those answers they have waited for, and I extend to them all my solidarity, and that of everyone in Sinn Féin, on this momentous day,” he added.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin also told the Dáil that his thoughts are with the families of those who died.
“For over 40 years now, the families pursued truth and justice. In a couple of hours, they will hear the verdict of the Dublin Coroner’s Court.
This will be a huge moment for those families and indeed for the country.
“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 of society,” Martin said.
People Before Profit-Solidarity TD Richard Boyd Barrett also used his speaking time to extend his support and solidarity to the 48 people who “never came home”.
He said he hoped today is the day loved ones “finally get the truth and justice they deserve after their 40-year-long struggle”.
Families of the victims have been arriving outside the Pillar Room at the Rotunda ahead of the verdict at 2pm.
Errol Buckley, whose brother Jimmy died in the fire, said that he is “nervous” about the verdict.
“It’s been a long wait for this,” he said.
Mrs Bridget McDermott has arrived at the inquests.
Three of her children, William, Marcella and George, died in the fire, the highest number of losses of any family.
Families of victims have been arriving over the course of the morning and afternoon to the Pillar Room at the Rotunda.
There is a dedicated section of the room where they will be seated.
As well as families and the jury, the legal teams representing all the interest parties – the families, Dublin City Council, the coroner – will also be in the room.
The 48 who never came home. pic.twitter.com/ehTeNZPTj2
— Justice for Stardust 48 (@48NeverCameHome) April 18, 2024
A quick recap before the verdicts are announced at 2pm…
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane told the jurors that the verdicts they can return are:
The coroner told the jury that the standard of proof to be applied for verdicts of accidental death, death by misadventure and a narrative verdict was “on the balance of probabilities, more likely than not”.
She said some commentators might put a percentage on it of 51% versus 49%.
In relation to unlawful killing, she said the standard of proof to be applied for a finding of this verdict was different to the others. She said the legal test the jury must apply was the “beyond a reasonable doubt” test before they can record a verdict of unlawful killing.
Yesterday, the jury said they were unable to reach a unanimous verdict. As a result, Dr Cullinan said she could accept a majority verdict in these circumstances – i.e. one that at least seven of the jury agreed upon.
The jury later confirmed they had reached a majority verdict.
An update from Deputy Editor Christine Bohan at the Pillar Room:
Organisers are struggling to accommodate the large volume of people here at the Pillar Room for the verdict.
They have asked all of the legal teams to step outside into the courtyard of the Rotunda hospital briefly while they make sure there are seats for all the family members who are here.
Remote access to the proceedings today is available at https://www.stardustfireinquests.ie/.
The coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, will enter the court in two minutes, the room has been told.
The coroner has entered the room.
“If you have a seat, please take it.” Jury had taken their seats.
The jury has confirmed they have reached the same verdict regarding each of the deceased.
Incomparable scenes in the Rotunda courtroom as the jury verdict is awaited. The grand room is packed. The air filled with excitement and fear.
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) April 18, 2024
There was an audible intake of breath in the room when the foreman said that they had reached the same verdict for all of the deceased.
The coronor is now asking the foreperson to confirm the date of identification and other details for each victim, and will move on to verdicts once that process is complete.
The coroner has reached the halfway point in naming each victim and confirming the cause of their death with the jury foreman.
The coroner is now reading out the general questionnaire given to the jury to answer.
The jury was able to confirm the location of the start of the fire. They determined it began in the hot press.
The jury has also determined that the carpet tiles on the walls of the Stardust ballroom contributed to the spread of the fire.
Update from Deputy Editor Christine Bohan at the Pillar Room: A member of staff here in the room has discreetly slid small packets of tissues onto the desks where a number of families are sitting.
BREAKING: The jury has returned a verdict of unlawful killing for each of the 48 victims of the fire.
A massive cheer broke out in the room when the foreman announced the verdict.
A number of people hugged each other and there are a lot of people crying.
From Deputy Editor Christine Bohan at the Pillar Room: A standing ovation in the room lasting almost a minute after coroner Dr Myra Cullinane pays tribute to the Stardust jury, saying it has been a “great act of public service”. Incredibly moving. Several of the jury members are crying.
Unlike in a criminal case, nobody is found guilty or innocent at an inquest, and no criminal or civil liability is determined. Instead, an inquest is used to determine the facts surrounding how, when and where the death of someone occurred.
A verdict of unlawful killing can only be determined where it is found there was gross negligence taken in the interest of preserving someone’s life.
Dr Myra Cullinane ends the Stardust inquests by mentioning the 48 young people who died in the fire.
“It is their lives that we’ve sought to vindicate by means of these inquests”
Members of the media – including reporters from The Journal – have gathered outside the Pillar Room.
It’s expected families and members of their legal teams will make statements shortly.
Reaction is beginning to come in following the announcement of the verdict.
“Today’s unlawful killing verdict in the case of each of the 48 victims is a watershed moment in the Stardust families’ decades-long search for the truth. For 43 years, relatives of those who died have been seeking answers as to how – and why – their loved ones were so cruelly taken from them,” Social Democrat TD Cian O’Callaghan said.
He said that “while today’s unlawful death verdicts will not take from the families’ enduring sense of loss, the jury’s conclusions will hopefully bring them some comfort”.
Taoiseach Simon Harris has issued a statement, saying the Government will “consider this verdict in full and the recommendations of the jury.
He said the Stardust fire was “one of the darkest moments in our history, a heart-breaking tragedy because of the lives that were lost, the families that were changed forever, and the long, drawn-out struggle for justice that followed”.
“Today we remember the 48 people who lost their lives, all those who were injured, and all those whose lives were marked forever by the tragedy,” Harris said.
He highlighted that for “over four decades, the families of the victims have carried the weight of this tragedy with unwavering strength and dignity”.
“Their relentless pursuit of truth and accountability, their profound commitment to justice, even in the face of overwhelming challenges and setbacks, was not only a fight for their loved ones but a campaign to ensure that such a disaster never happens again,” the Taoiseach said.
“I want to acknowledge and thank the coroner, and her team and the jurors,” he said.
“48 young people never came home that night, but as Taoiseach I want to say this to their families; You never gave up on justice for them, you never let Ireland forget about them. They were never alone, and our country owes you a great debt for that.
“We got everything we wanted,” says Errol Buckley, whose brother Jimmy died in the fire.
Antoinette Keegan, who lost her two sisters Mary and Martina in the fire, told reporters outside the Pillar Room that she is “really overwhelmed”.
“It’s a day that I’ve waited a long, long time for. All the families have been waiting a long time for this,” she said.
Jimmy O’Meara’s brother Brendan died in the fire.
Speaking to The Journal, O’Meara said is he “so proud” of his brother who managed to help people get out of the nightclub on the night of the fire.
“It’s the best verdict we could have asked for,” he said.
Jimmy, 65, says he finally has justice for his brother Brendan O’Meara who was killed in the stardust fire aged 23. Jimmy said there were times he thought this day would never come. Brendan’s niece Susan said today’s unlawful killing verdict was the best they could have hoped for pic.twitter.com/XCRtbJ9PcB
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) April 18, 2024
Here are the 48 victims of the Stardust fire:
In a statement this afternoon, Dublin City Council said it acknowledges the verdicts.
“It is hoped that these verdicts will finally provide closure for the families who lost their loved ones,” the Council said.
The Council thanked the jury for its “long attendance at the inquests and its careful deliberations”. It also thanked the coroner, Dr Cullinane.
“The Council wishes to publicly commend Dublin Fire Brigade for its response to the fire on the night, for the members’ heroic efforts in effecting rescue and for conducting themselves to the highest standards of the Fire Brigade,” the statement said.
“Finally, our thoughts are with the 48 people who died on that awful night and their families. May they rest in peace.”
Justice Minister Helen McEntee has called today a “landmark day”.
“I sympathise greatly with the families of the 48 young people tragically killed in the fire for the terrible loss they suffered. I also recognise the lasting impact on everyone who attended that night and their families. I know so many of you today will be thinking of your parents and other relatives who never got over their terrible loss,” McEntee said.
The Minister noted that “a really important aspect of the inquest process was the very moving pen portraits which gave each of the bereaved families a chance to describe and celebrate the all too short lives of their loved ones”.
“The conclusion of these inquests will not bring back those who died that night – but I hope that it will help their loved ones to achieve some small degree of closure and healing around this tragic event,” McEntee said.
Brendan’s family know that he went back into the fire to help save others several times, the last time he went into the nightclub he didn’t come back out. They are incredibly proud of him. pic.twitter.com/boY0Kb4qQs
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) April 18, 2024
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has said justice has been a long time coming for the Stardust families and that “today it has arrived”.
“It has been a long and heartbreaking road for victims’ families and survivors,” McDonald said.
“They have overcome countless, cruel obstacles and diversions, including those put up by the Irish State,” she said.
“They have overcome. We salute them,” McDonald added.
“The 48 young people who died on St. Valentine’s morning 1981 will be forever remembered.”
Justice has been a long time coming. Today it arrives. The verdict of Unlawful killing confirms what survivors, victims families & Dubliners have always know.
— Mary Lou McDonald (@MaryLouMcDonald) April 18, 2024
The 48 young lives taken in the Stardust will be forever missed by those that love them. Now each family has the…
The families of victims who died in the Stardust nightclub fire in 1981 march as You'll Never Walk Alone plays. @Cormfitz pic.twitter.com/DJF8HEEW6i
— TheJournal.ie (@thejournal_ie) April 18, 2024
The families of those killed in the Stardust fire have gathered at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin.
Former Stardust manager Eamon Butterly went to the High Court in the final days of the Stardust inquests in a last-ditch attempt to prevent the jury from being able to consider a verdict of unlawful killing, it can be revealed.
Brigid McDermott, 87, the mother of George, William and Marcella, three siblings who lost their lives in the Stardust fire, said she never lost hope that this day would come. pic.twitter.com/coVJ6MDsfo
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) April 18, 2024
Our reporter Eimer McAuley is down at the scene at the Garden of Remembrance this afternoon:
A cheer from the families for their legal teams, the jury, the coroner and the late RTE journalist Charlie Byrd. Emotional scenes. pic.twitter.com/dsjABTrGf2
— Eimer McAuley (@eimer_mcauley) April 18, 2024
Bridget McDermott’s three children – George, William and Marcella – lost their lives in the fire.
She was at the Pillar Room today, alongside families members, to hear the verdict being read,
When asked by The Journal how he feels about the verdict, her grandson Conor said “you can’t really put it into words”.
“To see see guys, my family fighting, the other families fighting for so long, it’s inspiring but also sad,” he said.
“We’re meant to live in a nation that has justice, law, morality and to see grandma to wait until now has been heartbreaking but we got there in the end,” he added.
“She just wanted the truth about what happened to her kids.”
Maurice Frazer, whose sister Thelma died in the fire, has called for a “meaningful public apology” from the Irish state.
He described the findings of inquests as a “turning point”.
Frazer said his family extend their heartfelt gratitude to the coroner, her team and the jury.
“For 43 long years we’ve been relentless in a quest for justice for our dear sister Thelma, her boyfriend, Michael and 46 others. We tirelessly battled against the barriers and the closed doors of Ireland’s political and justice systems, clinging to hope, even when it seemed futile. Finally those doors were broken open,” he said.
“Throughout this journey, families have endured the unbearable pain of losing parents, siblings and cherished friends, even decades later. For those decades, our hearts and minds have been shattered and the mental toll has been overwhelming and exhausting, persisting day after weary day.
“In 2009, the finding of the Stardust Tribunal 1981 of probable arson was finally removed. That’s 28 years later, 28 years of a loved one’s names smeared with a label of arson.
“This is why we the families need a meaningful public apology from the Irish state. Today marks a turning point, a step towards closure, healing, towards a future where justice prevails.”
Here’s some photos from the Garden of Remembrance, where the family members of the 48 victims have gathered.
President Michael D Higgins has said today’s verdict is “one that, while not bringing their loved ones back, is of the deepest importance for all those whose lives were so irreparably altered by that most appalling of days”.
“Those who had, as relatives, to carry a terrible grief, made worse by questions left unanswered,” Higgins said.
The President said that the verdict is a “vindication of the fight of those relatives, friends and community of the 48 young people”.
“I am very conscious that today will be a day of the deepest emotions for the loved ones of those who died. A day of vindication and of honour, but also a day of the deepest sadness and regret. I think in particular of those whose passing means this conclusion comes too late for them,” he said.
“As President of Ireland, I congratulate each of the families for the outcome of their steadfastness in pursuit of justice in honouring the memory of those they cared most for on this most important of days.”
Daragh Mackin of Phoenix Law, who represents the Stardust families, said that today is a “testament to the families’ dedication and commitment”.
“The reality is when you know these families, there was never any doubt in my mind that we’d get to this day,” Mackin said.
“These families are relentless, they have energy that is boundless, and they are true testament to their loved ones,” he said.
When asked what the next step will be, Mackin said the families have now called upon the Government to apologise.
“It’s taken four decades to get to the truth. They deserve an apology, it’s the very least they should be offered and we look forward to seeing the Taoiseach apologise to the families for what they have been put through.”
One of the things that made the Stardust inquests different to other inquests was the pen portraits.
From the day it began sitting last April, the court heard over the course of several weeks from the families of each of the 48 people who died in the fire.
The family members would describe the person that they had lost; their likes, their dislikes, what they meant to their family, and what life had been like without them.
The decision to have pen portraits at the Stardust inquests came from the coroner, Dr Myra Cullinane, who had said that it would be a way to publicly commemorate those who had died, as well as to help the jury to picture the victims as they were at the time of the fire.
It would remind the jury that the victims “are at the heart of this inquest,” she said.
The results were alternately moving, heartbreaking and poignant.
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