Candlelit vigil for nightclub victims

Families of the victims of the Stardust tragedy will hold a candlelight vigil at the site of the St Valentine’s Day blaze today.

Hundreds were injured and 48 young people killed when the fire spread through the nightclub in Artane, north Dublin, in 1981.

To mark the 28th anniversary, the Stardust Victims Committee said it would light 48 candles for those who died in the disaster.

The ground around the site will also be blessed.

A priest will lead prayers, flowers will be laid by families, friends and neighbours and singers will pay tribute to the lives lost.

“We will be playing appropriate songs to suit the occasion,” said spokeswoman Antoinette Keegan, who lost her sisters Martina and Mary in the inferno.

“We would like all the families, friends and neighbours of a lost loved one to attend this very, very special occasion, as this is the first time these grounds where the 48 victims perished is being blessed.”