“A LIVING NIGHTMARE.”
Those are the words of Gertrude Barrett, speaking in the Pillar Room of the Rotunda Hospital, as she read out the pen portrait of her son Michael Barrett (17), who died during the 1981 Stardust tragedy.
The tragedy saw 48 young people die in a fire at the Artane nightclub on Valentines Day 1981.
After 42 years of campaigning, families this week gathered at the Garden of Remembrance as the first hearing of the Stardust inquests got under way.
After making the short walk to the Rotunda, the Coroner’s Court was full of families and supporters as proceedings got underway at 11am that morning, including former RTÉ reporter and vocal supporter Charlie Bird.
Opening the session, Senior Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said that it was a “very important morning”, before telling the 15 jurors that they had a “very important task” ahead of them.
She told the jury that the 48 people who died in the Stardust fire would “be at the heart of this inquest”.
“It must be their lives that are vindicated,” Cullinane said.
As the inquest got underway, Cullinane opted to read each of the victims names in alphabetical order before allowing family members to read out individual pen portraits.
She explained that these pen portraits – which describe the lives of the victims and the victims families before and after the fire – would allow the jury and the general public to understand the loss that the families experienced.
In the days that followed the first inquest, these pen portraits have been read out by loved ones, with emotional tributes being paid by mothers, brothers, sisters, nieces and nephews.
Here are just some of those tributes:
The first pen portrait of the inquest was for 17-year-old Michael Barrett, who had travelled to the Stardust on that night to work as an assistant DJ.
His mother, Gertrude Barrett, told the jury that Michael had been a great brother and son and that – as the eldest – he had looked after and always protected his younger siblings.
However, she said that she was unaware about how her family’s life would “change catastrophically forever” on Valentines Day 1981.
She recalled the “unimaginable grief” of arriving at the morgue in Store Street, waiting to identify his body.
“The mayhem, the chaos, everything about it was horrendous. Utter horror, a living nightmare,” Mrs Barrett told the jury.
“The experience will stay with me for life and my daughter too.”
With Michael’s death, Mrs Barrett said that the lives of her three other children were immeasurably altered when they were just 10, 14 and 16, adding that they had to be raised through “a sea of tears”.
“Whilst I lost my eldest son to the Stardust, they lost their brother and they lost their mother as they knew her too,” Mrs Barrett told the jury.
“As a family, we will never recover from the trauma of the Stardust fire and its effects.”
As Mrs Barrett finished her pen portrait, attendees in the Pillar Room rose to their feet and applauded her.
On the second day of the inquest, Errol Buckley – brother of Stardust victim Jimmy Buckley – spoke about the guilt “eating away” at him following his brother’s death.
The pen portrait, read by Errol’s son Lloyd, described Jimmy as “more than a brother to me”.
“After my father died when I was 12, my mother moved back home to Offaly and I, not wanting to leave the only home I knew in Dublin, stayed. Jimmy took on my parents’ role,” Mr Buckley told the jury.
Mr Buckley, who had been one of the winners in the disco dancing competition that night, said that Jimmy “beamed with pride” and that he had jumped on stage to hug him and tell him how proud he was.
“Little did I know, they would be the last words I would ever hear from him,” he said.
Mr Buckley described running around looking for Jimmy outside the Stardust nightclub for around an hour, before giving up, thinking that he must have been moved to one of the hospitals.
“The next few days were a nightmare, not knowing where he was. Then the guards called to the house and asked us to come to the morgue. Jimmy was eventually identified by his wedding ring,” he said.
“Guilt was eating away at me. If I hadn’t been dancing that night, Jimmy wouldn’t have been there.”
He added that his other brother Albert and his mother had campaigned for justice up until their deaths, with Albert dying at 41 of a heart attack.
“The Stardust had claimed another victim as I believe Albert too never really recovered from that horrific night and the loss of Jimmy,” he said.
Jimmy’s widow, Christina Smyth, said that everyone Jimmy knew loved him.
The two were married in 1979 and welcomed their daughter Julieann on 13 February 1980.
Ms Smyth said that they had organised a party on the day in their house in Donnycarney, with Jimmy wanting to show her off.
“It was a day we will always remember as it was the last time we would all spend together,” she said.
Betty Bissett, the mother of Carol Bissett, told the jury of the pain faced by her family after Carol passed away in hospital in the days following the Stardust disaster.
She said that there was “so much taken from her that night”.
“Devastating our family, friends and community. When the terrible news came we couldn’t take it in,” Ms Bissett said.
“A bad dream, someone else’s nightmare. She was in hospital and died three days later.
“She was alone. I wasn’t there to hold her hand or tell her how I love her.”
Ms Bissett said that – following Carol’s death – she was unable to be there for her other children.
“I lost my child and I couldn’t be there for the rest,” she said.
Carol’s sister, Liz, recited a poem that she had written and told the jury that it summed up all of her thoughts since the Stardust fire.
“I just wish I got to say goodnight and I wish I could have held you tight,” Liz finished, becoming emotional.
As the two returned from the stand, Cullinane addressed them and asked if they were okay.
“It’s very difficult, but thanks so much for doing it.”
It’s expected that the pen portraits will last for another three weeks.
Following the pen portraits, witnesses will be called for testimony and evidence about the fire will be heard by the jury.
Overall, the inquest is expected to last around six months and will be the largest in the history of the State.
Additional reporting by IINA
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