Deaths of 48 people in 1981 fire at Dublin’s Stardust nightclub were unlawful killing, jury rules
The deaths of 48 people in the worst fire in the history of Ireland have been ruled by a jury as unlawful killing.
A jury at Dublin District Coroner’s Court delivered majority verdicts on the victims of the 1981 Stardust nightclub fire in the city on Thursday.
The venue in Artane, north Dublin, was packed with around 800 people when the fire broke out in the early hours of Valentine’s Day.
The Stardust fire took place in Dublin in the early hours of 14 February 1981. Pic: PA
More than 200 people were injured in the disaster.
Fresh inquests into the deaths, the longest held in Ireland, were ordered by the country’s attorney general in 2019, but only began last year.
Samantha’s mother Helena was killed in the fire
A jury, made up of seven women and five men, delivered the verdict on Thursday after 11 days of deliberation.
Some family members of the victims jumped to their feet and clapped at the verdict, while others were moved to tears as they remained in their seat.
Others embraced each other as soon as the foreman said “unlawful killing”.
The jury also established that the fire started as a result of an electrical fault in an airing cupboard.
In the ballroom, foam in the seating, the height of the ceiling in an alcove, and carpet tiles on the wall all contributed to the spread of the fire, the jurors found.
Several factors, including lack of visibility because of black smoke, the toxicity of the smoke or the gases, the heat of the fire, the speed of the fire’s spread, lack of staff preparedness and the failure of the emergency lighting system were all factors that impeded the victims in escaping the building.
It was unable to determine when the blaze started but said it was first seen outside the building between 1.20am and 1.40am.
Jurors said the fire was first seen inside the ballroom between 1.35am and 1.40am.
Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane paid tribute to the “persistence and commitment” of the families who had campaigned for fresh inquests.
“To the families I acknowledge the deaths of these 48 young people is a source of ongoing grief to those who loved them and it remains the defining loss of their lives,” she said.
“However, I hope that family members will have taken some solace from the fact that these fresh inquests were held, that the facts surrounding the deaths were examined in detail, that moving testimony was heard from many of those involved in the events of the night and, most importantly, that you the families felt fully involved in proceedings, however difficult it was to hear all of the evidence.
“The fact that these inquests have been held at all is in no small part due to the persistence and commitment of families over the years.
“And, finally, we remember those 48 young people who lost their lives on that fateful night. It is their lives that we’ve sought to vindicate by way of these inquests.”
On Wednesday, the foreman told coroner Myra Cullinane they had been unable to reach a unanimous verdict.
Ms Cullinane said she would accept a simple majority of seven and allowed the jury’s deliberations to continue.
Family members of victims of the Stardust tragedy along with supporters arriving at the Rotunda Foundation in Dublin for the 15th pre-inquest hearing in 2022. Pic: PA
Pat Dunne’s brother died in the tragedy
A tribunal of inquiry set up soon after the fire found arson was the “probable” cause, something the families rejected as it appeared to blame those attending the disco and absolved the club’s owners.
This is despite evidence that exits in the ballroom were locked, chained or otherwise obstructed, which the jury confirmed this afternoon.
They were themselves awarded IR£581,000 compensation by a Dublin court in 1983.
But victims’ relatives kept pushing for a new investigation and, eventually, new inquests were announced, only for legal arguments and wrangling over juror pay to delay proceedings by a further four years.
Relatives of those killed in the Stardust fire at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin ahead of the first day of the inquest. File pic
Ireland’s prime minister, Simon Harris, described the Stardust tragedy as “one of the darkest moments in our history”.
“A heartbreaking tragedy because of the lives that were lost, the families that were changed forever, and the long, drawn-out struggle for justice that followed,” he said.
In a statement after a jury at inquests into the deaths of the 48 people in the Dublin nightclub disaster in 1981 returned a verdict of unlawful killing, Mr Harris remembered those who lost their lives and paid tribute to their families for pursuing truth and justice “to ensure that such a disaster never happens again”.
He said the Irish government will consider the verdict in full, and the recommendations of the jury.
“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.”
World
Israel says it will screen October 7 attacks to Greta Thunberg and other activists after Gaza-bound aid boat ‘diverted’
The Israeli military will show Greta Thunberg and other activists footage of the 7 October attacks after a Gaza-bound aid boat was diverted to Israel, the country’s foreign minister has said.
Early on Monday, the Israeli foreign ministry said that the British-flagged yacht Madleen – operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) – “is safely making its way to the shores of Israel”.
All passengers were safe and unharmed, the ministry added, sharing footage of the activists being handed sandwiches and water.
In a statement via his spokesperson, defence minister Israel Katz said that he has instructed the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) to screen footage of the 7 October attacks for those aboard when they arrive at Ashdod Port.
Greta Thunberg was ‘safe and in good spirits’ while en route to Israel, the foreign ministry said. Pic: Israel Foreign Ministry
“Antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-supporting friends should see exactly what the Hamas terrorist organisation – which they came to support and act on behalf of – truly is,” he said.
“They should see the atrocities committed against women, the elderly, and children, and understand whom Israel is fighting to defend itself.”
He then added, “I commend the IDF for its swift and safe takeover” of the vessel, and said the Israeli military “will continue its just and moral fight against the Hamas murderers until their defeat, the release of all hostages, and the full restoration of Israel’s security”.
Ms Thunberg and other activists after their boat was diverted to Israel. Pic: Israel Foreign Ministry
Israel’s foreign ministry said earlier that those aboard the Madleen “are expected to return to their home countries,” and that the humanitarian aid aboard the ship would be transferred to Gaza through established channels.
Ms Thunberg was “safe and in good spirits” while en route to Israel, it added, calling the vessel “the ‘selfie yacht’ of the ‘celebrities'”.
The FFC claimed the passengers on the yacht had been “kidnapped by Israeli forces” and released pre-recorded messages from them after previously saying that the “Israeli army had boarded” the vessel.
Climate campaigner Ms Thunberg, 22, was one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily on 1 May on a mission aiming to break Israel’s sea blockade.
Ms Thunberg pictured in a pre-recorded video, released after the Madleen was diverted to Israel. Pic: FFC
The climate campaigner aboard the Madleen on 2 June. Pic: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/Reuters
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, was also on the boat.
She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.
Ms Hassan wrote on X as the FFC’s yacht was allegedly surrounded by other vessels: “The crew of the Freedom Flotilla was arrested by the Israeli army in international waters around 2am.”
The diversion of the Madleen came after Mr Katz said that he had instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel from reaching the shore and to “take whatever measures necessary”.
The Madleen was heading for Gaza
Addressing Ms Thunberg and the other activists on Sunday, he said: “You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.”
Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms.
But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which began after a Hamas-led assault on southern Israel on 7 October 2023, that killed more than 1,200 people.
According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 54,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of Israel’s military campaign.
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Why is Greta sailing to Gaza?
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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Francesca Albanese, United Nations’ special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, also urged other boats to challenge the Gaza blockade.
She said on social media: “Madleen’s journey may have ended, but the mission isn’t over.
“Every Mediterranean port must send boats with aid & solidarity to Gaza.”
World
Colombian presidential candidate Miguel Uribe Turbay in ‘critical condition’ after attempted assassination – as 15-year-old suspect arrested
A 15 year-old-boy has been arrested after a Colombian senator running to be the country’s next president was shot and “critically” injured at a campaign rally in Bogota, authorities have said.
Senator Miguel Uribe Turbay, 39, was targeted during the campaign event in a park in the Fontibon area of the Colombian capital, according to the Attorney General’s office.
He suffered two gunshot wounds when armed assailants shot him from behind and appeared to be bleeding from his head as he was helped by aides and people in the crowd, in a video posted on social media.
According to a medical report at the Santa Fe Foundation hospital, he was admitted there in a “critical condition” and is still undergoing a “neurosurgical and peripheral vascular procedure”.
Opposition senator Miguel Uribe Turbay on 13 May. Pic: AP
His wife Maria Claudia Tarazone wrote on X that he is “fighting for his life” and urged Colombians to pray for him.
She later said he survived an initial operation for the injuries.
Ms Tarazone said: “Miguel came out of surgery, he made it. Every hour is a critical hour. He fought his first battle, and it went well. This will take time.”
The hospital said Mr Uribe Turbay had procedures on his head and his left thigh, and remained in intensive care as doctors try to stabilise his condition.
Two other people were injured in the attack but the nature of their injuries has not been made public.
A suspect, a 15-year-old boy, was arrested at the scene with a firearm and is being treated for a leg injury, police chief General Carlos Triana said.
The government is offering a $730,000 (£540,000) reward for information and President Gustavo Petro said the investigation will focus on who ordered the attack.
“For now there is nothing more than hypothesis,” he said, adding that failures in security protocols would also be looked into.
People gather outside the hospital where Mr Uribe Turbay is ‘fighting for his life’. Pic: Reuters
Mr Uribe Turbay, who announced his presidential bid for the right-wing Democratic Center Party in March, was accompanied by a team of 21 people at the time of the shooting, his office said, including councilman Andres Barrios.
He was hoping to run in the presidential elections taking place on 31 May next year – and succeed Mr Petro, the country’s first leftist leader.
His mother, who was a journalist, was kidnapped and killed in 1991 during one of the most violent periods in Colombia’s history.
Forensic investigators at the scene of Mr Uribe Turbay’s shooting in Bogota. Pic: AP
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His party described it as an “unacceptable act of violence”, while US secretary of state Marco Rubio condemned it in the “strongest possible terms”.
Writing on X, Mr Rubio also urged Colombia’s current president to “dial back the inflammatory rhetoric and protect Colombian officials”.
Police outside the hospital where Mr Uribe Turbay is being treated. Pic: AP
Former Colombian president Alvaro Uribe, who is not related to Mr Uribe Turbay, said the gunman had “attacked the hope of the country, a great husband, son, brother, and a great colleague”.
He cancelled a planned trip to France due to the “seriousness of the events”, his office said in a statement.
Messages of support poured in from elsewhere in Latin America, with Chilean President Gabriel Boric saying: “There is no room or justification for violence in a democracy.”
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa added: “We condemn all forms of violence and intolerance.”
Israel’s defence minister has threatened to “take whatever measures necessary” to stop an aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg from reaching Gaza.
The climate campaigner, 22, is one of a dozen activists aboard the Madleen, which set sail from Sicily last Sunday on a mission aiming to break Israel‘s sea blockade.
The activists have said they plan to reach Gaza‘s territorial waters as early as Sunday to deliver humanitarian aid.
But in a post on X, Israel’s defence minister Israel Katz said he has instructed the IDF to prevent the vessel reaching shore and to “take whatever measures necessary”.
Addressing Thunberg and the other activists, he said: “You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.”
He wrote: “I have instructed the IDF to act so that the “Madeleine” hate flotilla does not reach the shores of Gaza – and to take any means necessary to that end.
“To the anti-Semitic Greta and her fellow Hamas propaganda spokespeople, I say clearly: You should turn back – because you will not reach Gaza.
“Israel will act against any attempt to break the blockade or assist terrorist organizations – at sea, in the air and on land.”
Latest known position of the vessel
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Why is Greta sailing to Gaza?
Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament, who is of Palestinian descent, is also on the boat, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition.
She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israel’s policies towards Palestinians.
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Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month after a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas and preventing the group from importing arms.
But humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless there is an end to the blockade and the 20-month war, which was ignited by the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on 7 Oct 2023.
An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group’s vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta.
The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship.
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