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 inquests into the Hillsborough disaster, where 97 people lost their lives in a crowd crush during a football match in Sheffield in 1989, were the first major inquests to hear pen portraits from relatives of those who died.
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. Here are the pen portraits in the order they were read about each of the 48 people who died in the Stardust disco in the early hours of 14 February 1981.
Michael Barrett
At 17 years old, Michael Barrett was the eldest of four children. He was an apprentice plumber and was working as an assistant DJ in the Stardust alongside his friend Colm O Brien on the night of the fire.
Michael was described by his mother Gertrude as a kind son and a loyal friend who was “always smiling” and had an infectious laugh. He was ambitious, and dreamed of going to Australia with his friend Gerry when he finished his apprenticeship.
He loved DJ-ing and had a number of opportunities to go to Big D radio to shadow the late DJ Tony Dixon. He also loved football, and was an avid supporter of Liverpool Football Club and the ‘Dubs’.
Carol Bissett
Carol Bissett was 18 years old, the second eldest of five children.
Her mother Betty described her as quiet in some ways, but said she participated well in school and was part of the school band, the choir and the Girl Guides.
She said Carol had good friends and a good job, and was a godmother to her twin cousins, “whom she loved dearly”.
Jimmy Buckley
Jimmy Buckley was 23 years old and lived in Donnycarney with his wife Christina, and their daughter Julieann, who was born in 1980.
Jimmy helped to raise his brother Errol after their father died. His brother described him as a “father figure” and “my hero”.
He was a talented singer and entertainer, having won a talent show in the Stardust a few months before the fire. He also had a passion for hurling and Gaelic football. His wife Christina said he loved to go and watch Dublin play in Croke Park on Sundays.
Paula Byrne
19-year-old Paula Byrne was the fifth of eight children. She was a people person who loved her friends and family, and was described by her sister Maria as the “peacemaker” of the household.
“Kindness” was the word Maria used to describe Paula’s nature. She took after their mother, she said, and would share anything with anyone – including her sibling’s things.
She loved dancing and music and had a great eye for fashion. She also had a passion for drawing, with many of her school books filled with doodles and sketches.
Caroline Carey
Caroline Carey was 17 years old and was the fourth born of seven children. She was a member of the parish junior choir as a child, and later got a job as a clerical officer in Dublin Corporation, now known as Dublin City Council.
She was a talented Irish dancer and competed in many competitions before taking up disco dancing. Her sister Maria described her as beautiful, bubbly and witty.
Caroline told her family three weeks before her death that she was pregnant. Maria said there was great excitement in their home at the prospect of a new baby in the family.
Johnny Colgan
Johnny Colgan was 21 years old and was the only boy of three children. He worked with his father as a painter and decorator, and was his mother’s pride and joy, according to his sister Susan.
She described him as a “natural charmer” who was “always up for the craic” and loved a dance, playing football and a pint with the lads. His favourite song was “Lovely Day” by Bill Withers, but his party piece was “The Hucklebuck.
Johnny also had a kindness about him, his sister said. “When he walked into a room it lit up, he instantly filled the room with love, it radiated from him.”
Jacqueline Croker
Jacqueline Croker was 19 years old, with two younger siblings. Her father idolised her, and they would spend lots of time together because they worked together.
She worked from the age of 15 and bought her brother Alan’s communion suit and her sister Alison’s confirmation dress. Every Friday, she would buy the Top of the Pops LP from Golden Discs with her wage as a treat for her siblings.
She shared a room with her sister, and they would listen to records when Jacqueline was getting ready to go out: Dolly Parton, Johnny Logan, John Lennon and Diana Ross were favourites. She was on the darts team for Chivers jam factory and was engaged to John.
Jacqueline never took a serious photograph, Alison said.
Liam Dunne
Liam Dunne was 18 years old, the eldest in his family.
He was training as a butcher and had many friends that he enjoyed spending time with.
His sister Siobhan described him as a loving boy and said they loved to listen to music together, pooling money together to buy records. The last one they bought together was “Since You Been Gone” by Rainbow.
Michael Farrell
Michael Farrell was 26 years old. He adored his family and was very close to his mother. He was going out with Thelma Frazer, who also died in the fire.
Michael started his first job as a helper on the trucks in Allied Bottlers when he was 14, before moving on to driving the trucks when he was older. He later worked at Cadbury’s. He was also part of a pitch and putt club, where he won many trophies.
He loved to socialise, particularly with his best friend Jerry. They would often go out and would back a horse or buy a spot-the-ball competition entry. He enjoyed horse racing and loved the Bee Gees, Bruce Lee and going dancing.
Michael Ffrench
Michael Ffrench was 19 years old. The eldest of seven children, he was described as his family’s rock by his sister Caroline, who said the younger children looked up to him and went to him for advice and reassurance.
Michael worked long hours as an auto electrician and was generous with his wages, which would be used to fund his sibling’s extracurricular activities. His dream was to make life easier for his mother, and he would dance around the kitchen with her to cheer her up.
He was a big music fan and bought most of the records in the family’s collection, his sister said. His nickname “Horsey” is written on them as he used to lend them to his friends.
David Flood
David Flood was 18 years old and lived with his parents, Paddy and Bernie and his younger brother, Pat in Beaumont.
He loved music and playing the guitar, and was a big Rolling Stones fan. This was reflected in his sense of style and “the Jagger swagger about him”, according to his nephew Ciarán, who inherited his records.
David also enjoyed dancing, going to the disco and playing darts with his brother. He worked in O’Neills Shoes on Talbot Street, which he loved, and often joked that he would open his own shoe shop if he came into money.
Josephine Glen
Josephine Glen was 16 years old, with three siblings. Her sisters Sheena and Alison described her as a “happy, kind, loving and sociable person with lots of friends”.
Josephine loved children, and would babysit for her neighbour’s daughter and for other families in the neighbourhood. She got a job at 14 after leaving school and would contribute the majority of her wages to the household. She is remembered by her brother William as their mother’s “right hand”.
Alison, who was a year younger than Josephine, said they were more like twins than sisters, and would go out dancing together to the local teen disco.
Thelma Frazer
Thelma Frazer, who was 20 years old, was the third eldest of seven boys and two girls. She went to school at St Brigid’s Primary School and joined The Order of Malta at Clyde Road with her two younger brothers and her best friend, where they learned First Aid.
Thelma studied Business and Communications at Ballsbridge Business College and was recommended by her head teacher to the Irish Productivity Centre. She loved sports, whether it was running, playing football or going to away trips to see Shelbourne FC play.
She also loved music and would buy records by ABBA and Boney M to play for her siblings. Her sister Barbara, who was 14 years younger than Thelma, said she was like a mother to her.
Susan Morgan
Susan Morgan was 19 years old. She was from Derry and was raised by her grandmother. She moved to Dublin with her friend Yvonne and a large group of girls, and they lived in the Nazareth House care home where they worked and shared accommodation.
Susan was a tomboy. She loved football and played on the A-team for Shantallow football club in Derry. Yvonne described her friend as bubbly, funny and full of life, who liked a practical joke.
Yvonne said Susan really loved Dublin and the “freedom and possibility” it represented, describing her love of walking along the big wide tree-lined avenues on the north side of the city. She also said Susan had fallen in love with Paul Wade, who also died in the fire.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett was 17 years old and the eldest of four children. He was very mature for his age, and left school at 15 to get a job and provide for his mother and siblings.
His mother Helen said Richard was the main breadwinner in the household and became a father figure to his younger brothers and sister following the breakup of his mother’s marriage to her first husband. She said he was very protective of his family and a great support to her.
Richard loved music. He bought a Walkman with his first wage and enjoyed listening to Donna Summer, Status Quo and Led Zeppelin. He also enjoyed playing with his brothers Michael and Mark, and would always make time for a game of rounders with his sister Elaine.
Brian Hobbs
At 21 years old, Brian Hobbs was the youngest of seven children. He loved music, clothes, dancing and socialising with his friends.
Brian studied at Rockwell Hotel and Catering College in Co Tipperary and was sought after to join a catering team in Zurich, Switzerland. He celebrated his 21st birthday there, where he received a handmade leather belt with the letter ‘B’ as the buckle as a gift.
After moving home to continue his career, he got a job at Sachs Hotel in Donnybrook. His sister Pat said testimonies from his Rockwell colleagues suggest that Brian was ambitious and was going places in the catering world.
Eugene ‘Hughie’ Hogan
Eugene ‘Hughie’ Hogan was 24 years old. Growing up, he was very close to his eight siblings, particularly to his brother Declan, who was 11 months older than him. Both boys loved to pick fruit in the summer and play football, later becoming skilled carpenters.
Hughie loved to sing and dance, frequenting all the local dance halls in Artane and Coolock as a teenager. He also enjoyed playing pranks, with his family remembering the night he and his friends borrowed all of the neighbour’s garden furniture, gnomes, toadstools and flamingos and placed them in their garden.
He married Marie in 1977 and had two daughters, Andrea and Sonia. When Hughie accepted a job in Kerry, the family were set to move there on 15 February 1981. After saying goodbye to Declan and his wife Geraldine, he and Marie went to the Stardust with his other brother Bernard on 13 February to toast to their future. Bernard escaped but suffered burns to his head, face, back and hands.
Michael Griffiths
At 17 years old, Michael Griffiths was the eldest of five siblings. His brother Paul remembers him as a very happy, outgoing person with a great love for his family and a great relationship with his many friends.
An avid Tottenham Hotspur fan, Michael loved sport as well as music, with Elvis being one of his favourites. “We never had to ask if Michael was home because you could hear him either laughing or playing music,” Paul said.
Michael was also hardworking and had a generous nature. After receiving his first pay cheque when he was around 16 years old, he brought all of his siblings to the cinema rather than going out and spending it on himself.
The family had just celebrated their father’s 43rd birthday on the night Michael went to the Stardust.
Robert ‘Bobby’ Hillick
Robert ‘Bobby’ Hillick was 20 years old. He grew up in Belfast with his mother and older brother Bill. His father, who had cancer, died when he was 25 years old.
The two brothers would have scuffles growing up, and Bill said Bobby would always have the upper hand on him, though this was all part of growing up in a lively house. “We were very close and just doing as young boys do,” Bill said.
Bobby played sports growing up and loved football and boxing in particular. He was outgoing and hardworking, getting a successful paper round when he was just 13 years old. He went to work on a building site in Dublin after he left school.
Martina Keegan
Martina Keegan was 16 years old, the fourth child of Christine and John Keegan. After her birth, the family moved to a three-bedroom house in Coolock. Her sister Lorraine recalled the love and happiness in the family home where the eight children grew up.
A bubbly child, Martina loved her family and friends. She had ambitions to become a model, and was described by her sister as beautiful inside and out, caring, compassionate, fun-loving, sociable and witty.
Martina worked as a waitress in The Clare Manor Hotel on the Malahide Road, and later in Superquinn in Northside Shopping Centre, where she met her boyfriend David Morton, who also died in the Stardust fire. She was studying to complete a secretarial course in Coláiste Dhúlaigh, and would have sat her exams in June 1981.
Mary Keegan
19-year-old Mary was the eldest of the eight Keegan children. Her youngest brother Damien said she was not only their big sister, but a best friend who would keep their secrets. He said he and Mary shared a special bond, and there wasn’t a day that went by that she wouldn’t bring something home to him after work.
Mary was a fantastic pupil, and after getting the best results in her Leaving Cert, she went on to complete a typing course before securing a job in RTV Rentals in Northside Shopping Centre.
Mary had many hobbies, and Damien said happiness was paramount at the top of her list. She loved travelling and enjoyed “the holiday of a lifetime” to England with her sister Antoinette, and their friends Mary Kenny and Helen in August 1980. They would also regularly spend weekends in a mobile home in Rush.
“She was a loving, caring, compassionate, fun-loving, very sociable, but shy at heart, witty and extremely intelligent sister we were all blessed to have in our family,” Damien said.
Robert Kelly
Robert Kelly was 17 years old. He was the youngest of nine children, and they and their parents William and Theresa Kelly lived in an end terrace house in Edenmore Crescent. After studying at Killester College, Robert left and began working on B&I boats as a steward, which he loved.
Described by his friend Antoinette as “a bit of a character”, he nicknamed himself ‘Spikey’ due to the way he styled his hair. He loved music, with some of his favourite bands being the Bay City Rollers, the Sex Pistols, the Undertones and Sham 69. He also loved embroidery and had embroidered Sham 69 singer Jimmy Pursey’s face onto his denim Wrangler jacket.
Antoinette said Robert adored his mother. On 28 January 1981, his seventeenth birthday, Robert used money his sister gave him as a present to buy John Lennon’s record ‘Woman’ as a present for his mother.
Mary Kenny
Mary Kenny was 19 years old, the eldest of four children. She attended Coláiste Dhúlaigh in Coolock and was very popular with her school friends. Her first job was working as a receptionist at Briggs & McCrae in Dublin City.
Mary was close to her elderly aunt, who lived alone in the city, and would cycle from Coolock to see her every week and make sure she had everything she needed. She supported Leeds United, and loved fashion and music – Queen, T-Rex and Barry Manilow were favourites.
She also loved dancing, and had bought a new pair of dancing shoes before the fire for the lessons she was taking. Her sister Angela said she would look forward to going to the Stardust every week, where she could dance all night with her friends.
Marie Kennedy
Marie Kennedy was 17 years old. Described by her sister Michelle as cheeky and fun-loving, she was a Christmas baby and the eldest of six children.
Marie loved music and singing from a young age, and was dancing almost as soon as she could walk. The Bee Gees, the Jackson 5, Leo Sayer, and Abba were some of her favourite musicians, and she would teach her siblings how to sing and dance to “The Hucklebuck”.
Marie also had a love of fashion and worked at tailoring while she went to secretarial college. Her sister also described Marie as mischievous, and recounted how she would bunk off work to spend the day with their cousin from London, how she pierced her friend’s ears (they were crooked) and how she accidentally cut her fringe off.
“She was the ultimate big sister,” Michelle said.
Donna Mahon
Donna Mahon was 17 years old and lived in Edenmore with her parents and eight siblings. She loved her two nieces Elaine and Pamela and was the apple of her father Michael’s eye.
She went to St Eithne’s Girls’ School in Edenmore and quickly became the supervisor of Derek Durken’s newsagent when she got a job there. Her sister Theresa said she loved her role in the shop and loved the people.
Donna and her friends had made plans to go to Santa Ponsa for her 18th birthday, having been there the year before with her parents. She was ten weeks shy of her 18th birthday when she went to the Stardust.
Paula Lewis
Paula Lewis was 19 years old. She was described by her brother John as a big sister and second mother to her younger siblings, her mother’s right-hand woman and her father’s pride and joy.
Paula was kind and would hand up her wages to her mother if she was stuck. She loved music and enjoyed bands like ABBA, the Bay City Rollers and The Osmonds. She also liked reading Mills and Boons novels.
John said that on Wednesday evenings, Paula would be in the kitchen with her friends Debbie and Sandra, “most likely talking about boys and their upcoming holiday to Malaga”. Sandra also died in the Stardust fire.
Paul Wade
Paul Wade was 17 years old. He had four brothers, including his twin brother Liam. His brother Tony said the twins were like chalk and cheese and fought like cats and dogs, but they always had each other’s backs.
Paul was a people-person, funny and outgoing who loved to chat. He got a job as an apprentice barman in Harry Byrne’s Pub in Clontarf, but left after two weeks because he missed hanging out with his friends. He also took part in local football and enjoyed swimming.
John said that he and his girlfriend Finola were on a double date with Paul and Susan Morgan, who also died in the fire.
Eamonn Loughman
At 18 years old, Eamonn Loughman was the eldest of seven children. He doted on his younger siblings, helping to get them ready in the mornings, playing ball with them and taking them to the cinema. “He was a guy that loved his family and he loved going out with his friends,” his brother Eoin said.
Eamonn was a Leeds United fan and loved to drive the Ford Cortina that he and his father Jack had bought together. His brother Andrew remembers him as “a cool dude” who was sophisticated and well-dressed. He had a deep laugh and would sing the same note over no matter what the tune was, according to his cousin Maureen.
His sister Anne, who was only two years old when he died, said she remembers Eamon looking after her and playing with her. She said he was always a big help to his mother Maureen.
Sandra Lawless
Sandra Lawless was 18 years old, the third eldest of seven children. She loved outdoor activities like hiking and camping, enjoying trips to the Dublin Mountains with her father Paul. She was also a group leader in the Girl Guides and a member of a swimming club, winning awards for life-saving.
Sandra worked in Gilt Edge making ties with her older sister Valerie and her aunt Lily. Her brother Brendan remembered that every morning, she would make lunch for both of them and iron their clothes. “This was the type of selfless person she really was,” he said.
Brendan also remembers Sandra as being like a second mother to their youngest sibling Fidelma, whom she doted on. Their brother Brian remembers Sandra as being like the family bodyguard, always looking out for the younger siblings.
Brendan said Sandra was “exceptional”. The last gift she ever bought for him was The Clash album London Calling. “I still find it hard to believe that an 18-year-old teenager would buy her 12-year-old brother such a classic present.”
Maureen Lawlor
Maureen Lawlor grew up in Cabra. She was 23 years old, one of seven children. While she was a confident child, she was seriously hurt after being struck by a car on Gardiner Street when she was 15. This affected her school life and her self-confidence.
She left school after the Inter-Cert to work in a butcher’s shop on Dorset Street. She was shy and liked having order in her life. She was always immaculately dressed and groomed, and her interest in clothes was shared by Francis, whom she married when she was 17.
The couple’s daughter Lisa said that all Maureen ever wanted was to be a mother raising a happy family, and she was thrilled to be a parent.
Francis Lawlor
Francis Lawlor was 25 years old, the eldest of 12 children. He liked spending time with his siblings and imagined having a big family of his own one day. He was forward-thinking, enjoyed chatting to people and was not afraid of hard work.
Francis was a bright student, but was not very interested in academic study, and left school after his Inter Cert to start working. He joined the army at the age of 21 and was a natural marksman, being awarded for his talent when his group of trainees passed out.
He was also very interested in fashion and loved to be dapper. He married Maureen when he was 19 years old. Their daughter Lisa said her family has told her that she was the light of her parents’ lives.
Margaret Kiernan
Margaret Kiernan was 19 years old, a sister to two older brothers. Her brother James said his memories of his sister are of having fun, talking to her about her love of sports and going out with her many friends.
Margaret loved soccer, hockey and basketball, excelling in all three. She also loved makeup, getting dressed up for any occasion, and music. She would scream out a version of Roxanne by The Police, her brother said.
She met her best friend Dierdre in primary school. The pair played sports together and later enjoyed discos together. Dierdre still remembers their first trip to town on their own, where they went to the cinema and then had a burger and chips in the steak house on O’Connell Street. Her brother said Margaret dreamed of getting married, having children and moving into a house next to Dierdre.
Helena Mangan
Helena Mangan was 22 years old, the second eldest of six children. She loved dancing, music and playing the guitar. She loved to treat her sisters, and especially her mother, when they went shopping in town on Saturdays.
Helena had a four-year-old daughter Samantha, who described her as kind and caring with a dry sense of humour. She loved to bake and there was always a smell of freshly baked cakes in the house. She also enjoyed sewing and crocheting.
Helena loved being a mother and took her role very seriously. She would sing ‘Loving You’ by Minnie Riperton to her daughter Samantha every night before she went to sleep.
William ‘Willie’ McDermott
William ‘Willie’ McDermott was 22 years old and lived with his parents and seven siblings in Raheny. Remembered as “a gentle giant” by his sister Louise, she said he was funny and caring and would look out for his younger siblings.
Willie loved music and was always buying records by the likes of E.L.O., T Rex and The Dubliners. He loved meeting up with his friends at the weekend for a game of pool and a few beers.
He was also a great Dublin supporter and would go and see them play in Hill 16 in Croke Park with his sisters Bred and June, and his brother Jim.
George McDermott
George McDermott was 18 years old, and was described by his sister June as the joker of the family who always had a cheeky grin on his face.
George loved playing cards with his pals out on the green. He would bet on anything – but if he won, his winnings would go to the kids on the road. He also loved to meet his friends in the Cock Tavern in Howth for a game of cards.
He was also a Tottenham Hotspur fan, which got him a slagging from his family. June said he was a gentle person who just liked to get on with people.
Marcella McDermott
16-year-old Marcella McDermott was the sixth child of the family. ‘Happy, singing and dancing’ were always the first words to come to mind to describe Marcella, according to her sister Selina.
Music was a big part of Marcella’s life. She never stopped dancing, especially to her favourite band The Specials. She loved meeting up with her friends and going to the Dandelion Market, often bringing Selina with them, and she would always buy a record and a pin badge for her Harrington jacket.
Marcella loved minding her nephews and spoiling them whenever she could. She was a godmother to her sister Bred’s son, Paul. She idolised her mother and couldn’t do enough for her. She never left her job in Dunnes Stores in Talbot Street without bringing something home for her mother. The last thing she bought her was a cream cake.
Julie McDonnell
Julie McDonnell was a special kind of person, her niece Pamela said, describing her as fun, loving, helpful, caring and thoughtful. She was 20 years old and had four siblings.
Julie had many friends. She worked in Portion Foods and provided for the household along with her mother Trish, always helping with the bills and shopping and looking after her siblings. They were more like friends than mother and daughter, and as long as her family was happy, Julie was too.
As well as being a coach for the local football team, she loved music and was a big Elvis Presley fan. Julie was very close to her sister Lorraine. The two girls shared a bedroom filled with records, posters and books, and they did everything together.
Teresa McDonnell
Teresa McDonnell was 16 years old. Her brother Richard described her as someone with a huge circle of friends, who always stood up for what she believed in, who loved life and tried to live and enjoy every moment.
Teresa attended Saint Mary’s Secondary School in Killester, but she didn’t enjoy academic study and preferred the social side of school. She loved hair, makeup and beauty and spoke about becoming a beautician or a hairdresser.
Teresa also loved animals, and they always seemed to warm to her, Richard said. She shared a bedroom with her sister Lorraine, who remembers them sharing their troubles, dreams and plans for the future with one another on long, sleepless nights. “Teresa was my soul mate and my confidante,” Lorraine said.
Gerard McGrath
Gerard McGrath was 21 years old, an independent young man with a passion for wildlife.
His sister Liz remembered his encyclopedic knowledge of garden birds, and taking him to the old Dublin bird market, George’s Pet Shop on Marlborough Street, the Dead Zoo and the Natural History Museum. He adopted Scamper, the family’s first dog, after convincing his mother that he had followed him home. Several dogs followed.
Gerard was talented with his hands and became an apprentice cabinet maker. He liked to be neatly dressed and would often spend Saturday afternoons ironing shirts and jeans while listening to his record collection, which included Mud, Sweet, Gilbert O’Sullivan, the Bay City Rollers and a selection of Irish ballads. His party piece was the ballad ‘Nancy Spain’.
Caroline McHugh
Caroline McHugh was 17 years old, the only child of Phyllis and Maurice McHugh. Her parents described her as a talented young lady, who competed in Irish dancing competitions and performed in the Saint Patrick’s Day parades.
Caroline was an avid reader. At college, she learned public speaking and sang in the college choir, winning awards in the Feis Ceoil. She also loved to go swimming with her father in the local swimming pool.
After leaving school, Caroline worked as a sales assistant in Roches Stores and in hotel catering before working in the estimating department for a large building services contractor. Her parents said her excellence in mathematics was of great benefit to her and the company. This may have been the start of her career, they said.
James ‘Jim’ Millar
James ‘Jim’ Millar was 21 years old, the second eldest of five children. He was very close to his older sister Laura, who remembered always following her brother around and him looking after her, describing him as her best friend.
Originally from Belfast, Jim was a member of the Merchant Navy and travelled around the world before choosing to settle down in Dublin. He lived in a house with his friends who were also working in the city and was saving to buy a house to live in after he and his fianceé Marion got married.
Laura remembers the whole family spending Christmas of 1980 together. She said that Jim was a beautiful person and a loving son and brother.
David Morton
David Morton was 19 years old and lived with his parents Bill and Maura and his younger brother Alan.
David was outgoing, confident, and charismatic. He left school at 16 and began working as a fruit and veg man before getting a job in Superquinn in Coolock Shopping Centre, where he excelled and made many friends. He enjoyed the independence of working and being able to help to support the family.
David loved socialising and having a pint with his friends in the local pubs. He also loved clothes and collecting records. He was a huge fan of David Bowie, and liked to style himself as his hero after getting a job, Alan said.
While the brothers didn’t always get on, Alan said David was always there for him. “I looked up to him and wanted to be as cool as he was,” he said.
Kathleen Muldoon
Kathleen Muldoon was 19 years old, the eldest of ten children. Her brother Hugh described her as a mature young girl who helped with chores like cooking and cleaning in the family home in Kells and took care of her younger brothers and sisters.
Kathleen had many school friends and enjoyed going on nights out. She also loved football and music, with The Eagles being one of her favourite bands, and would also go to concerts.
Hugh said that looking after and caring for people is something Kathleen loved. She always wanted to be a nurse and was studying to be a nurse and living in Dublin at the time of the fire.
George O’Connor
George O’Connor was 17 years old, the eldest of five children. He was very much like his dad in that he was quiet and reserved and preferred staying in to going out, according to his sister Donna. He was a big science fiction fan and would try to replicate the spaceships from the comics and films of Star Wars, Star Trek and War of the Worlds.
After completing Leaving Cert in St Joseph’s CBS Fairview, he got a part-time job in the St Lawrence Hotel in Howth, where the family would occasionally get extra desserts during carverys on Sundays because they knew the staff.
George later worked in Superquinn in Northside Shopping Centre. Donna said he enjoyed this job and made some lovely friends, who encouraged him to come out of his ‘shell’ and socialise more. The dance in The Stardust on the night of the fire was the first dance that George ever attended.
Brendan O’Meara
Brendan O’Meara was 23 years old, the third of four children. ‘Good, honest and decent’ were the words his brother Jimmy used to describe him, adding that he was someone who would help anybody out in any way he could.
Brendan served in the army and achieved an award for his meticulous appearance. His sister Margaret said he was a handsome young man who was always the best dressed in the family, and would get his suits dry cleaned weekly. She also recalled how he supported her and her husband when they had their own children.
Brendan also played for a football team and was on the local pub darts team with both his brothers. He was the anchor man who was kept until the end because they could always depend on him winning, John said. After each game, there was always a sing-song. His favourite ballad to sing was Fiddler’s Green.
John Stout
John Stout was 18 years old, the third eldest of 11 children. He was quiet and sensitive, according to his niece Alison, a quick learner in school and very family-orientated.
The family were very close, and John wanted to get a job to contribute to the household and help his parents. Alison said he had plans to do a painting and decorating course to start a career for himself.
John was a big Elvis Presley fan. He liked snooker and loved watching showjumping competitions. He went out with his friends about once a week. He was in a relationship with Helena Mangan, who was also killed in the fire.
Margaret Thornton
19-year-old Margaret Thornton was the youngest of four children. Her sister Patricia said the family doted on her as the baby of the house and recalled regular trips to the cinema and Dollymount Beach. “There were many arguments and many laughs,” she said.
Margaret learned dressmaking and tailoring at the Parnell Institute of Tailoring and Textiles and later worked in many sewing factories. She loved fashion, music and concerts, going out with her family and friends and doting on her nieces and nephew. She was in a relationship with Murtagh ‘Murty’ Kavanagh, who also died in the fire.
Her best friend Valerie said she and Margaret were more like sisters, growing up as next-door neighbours, going to school together and later working together. The friends loved going to the Dandelion market, buying the latest LPs and practising their dance moves for that week’s disco.
For her 19th birthday in November 1980, Valerie bought Margaret a Christopher Cross album. For Valerie’s birthday 10 weeks later, Margaret bought her a wishbone ring, which she still has.
Murtagh ‘Murty’ Kavanagh
Murtagh ‘Murty’ Kavanagh was 27 years old. He had three siblings and lived with his widowed father, whom he cared for, in Coolock. His sister Terry described him as a caring, kind and generous person who was good-natured and ready to help no matter what was needed.
Murty had several hobbies, including cooking, fishing, GAA and music. He was a big fan of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. He also supported Manchester United. He worked as a heating insulator – a job that took him around the country, which meant he had to stop playing GAA.
Terry said Murty had a good sense of humour and an infectious laugh. He had many dreams and hopes for the future, and was planning to get engaged to his partner Margaret Thornton, who also died in the fire.
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