Electrical fault started inferno, claim Stardust survivors

SURVIVORS of the 1981 Stardust fire disaster say they have new evidence which suggests it may have been caused by an electrical fault.

This contradicts one of the main findings of the tribunal of inquiry into the blaze which found that arson was primarily to blame.

The inferno claimed the lives of 48 people at a disco being held in the night club on Valentine’s night 22 years ago.

One of the survivors, Antoinette Keegan, said yesterday that a sworn affidavit was due to be taken today from a woman who was in the disco at the time fire broke out in a closed-off balcony area of the club.

According to Ms Keegan, whose two sisters, Martina, 16, and Mary, 19, died in the blaze, the woman will give evidence concerning an electrical fault.

She added that a High Court case for compensation begun by her father 20 years ago would now be re-started in light of the witness’s evidence. Her father died in 1986.

“We will go to the Supreme Court,” said Ms Keegan who was 18 at the time of the tragedy.

Along with many other Stardust survivors, she has been waging a long-running battle with the Government for the past decade.

“We are still just looking for three things: the cause of the fire, counselling for those affected and compensation,” said Ms Keegan. “Many of us are still traumatised by what happened. If the Government had given us counselling we would not now be in this position.”

A meeting of survivors and those who lost loved ones in the fire has been arranged for this Thursday, May 22. It will be held at St Joseph’s National School in Bonnybrook , near Coolock, adjacent to the Stardust Memorial Park.

The Stardust club, located on Kilmore Road on the northside of Dublin, was packed to capacity when the blaze started. It was one of the worst fires ever seen in Ireland and second only to the 1979 Whiddy oil terminal disaster which claimed 51 lives.

Most of those who died in the Stardust fire were from the locality and some were from the same family.

The fire began in a closed-off area with two seats alight at the time of discovery. An attempt to extinguish the fire failed.

Security staff pushed up the screen dividing the area but this caused the fire to spread and set alight the ceiling tiles and walls in the disco area. The dancers panicked and a stampede ensued.

People were trampled in the rush and others collapsed, unable to breathe in the noxious atmosphere. Some exits were locked and those trying to escape could not do so. Many went to escape via windows but were met with iron bar grilles which prevented their exit. Rescue personnel watched in horror from the outside as victims were crushed against the grilles, desperate to flee the smoke and flames.