'We can let them rest in peace': Families of Stardust victims finally have closure after inquest verdict

The memorial to the victims of the Stardust fire. Pictures: Sam Boal/Collins

In a retail car park on a rainy morning in Dublin, one woman turned the corner with a bunch of flowers in her hand.

She walked to the south-east corner of the car park where a small cordon had been erected around a massive plaque on the wall bearing the names and photos of 48 people.

Silently laying the flowers down, she took a few steps back to take in all of the faces on the wall.

Standing there staring for several minutes, she wiped tears from her eyes before turning away.

There was no vigil this year at the former site of the Stardust nightclub in North Dublin to mark the 44th anniversary of the devastating fire that swept through the popular venue, which claimed 48 lives.

Things were a lot more low key, even though this anniversary was such a significant one. 

After decades of banging their head against brick walls, looking for a breakthrough that would bring closure and justice for their loved ones who died, last April saw that long battle finally achieve a breakthrough.

Flowers at the site of the Stardust nightclub on Friday. 

Those young people — the average age was just 19 — had been in the Stardust for a disco dancing competition when what was initially observed as a small fire in a closed-off portion of the club quickly engulfed it.

Compounding the fire itself were factors like the carpet tiles used on the walls of the Stardust which led to the rapid spread of the fire, staff had received no training on what to do in the event of a fire and some of the emergency exit doors were shut or obstructed at the time the fire struck.

The initial tribunal into the fire determined the “probable” cause of the fire was arson, which was rejected by the families and interpreted as pinning the blame on one of their own for causing the fire.

Last April, a jury concluded all those young people who died in the Stardust were unlawfully killed following a year-long inquest before Dublin city coroner Dr Myra Cullinane. The jury also determined the fire started due to an electrical fault in the hot press of the main bar of the Stardust, rather than any "arsonist" being responsible. 

Following that, the families received a full State apology in the Dáil from then-taoiseach Simon Harris, there was a ceremony of commemoration in the Garden of Remembrance and there was a reception in Áras an Uachtaráin, all within a few months of the verdict.

In the Dáil, Mr Harris said "from the very beginning, we should have stood with you, but instead we forced you to stand against us" as he issued the apology.

This was the first anniversary that, for many families, they believed they finally had some closure at long, long last.

“I think because we got the verdict, this is the first anniversary that I think we can let them rest in peace,” said Fidelma Lawless, whose 18-year-old sister Sandra died in the fire. “It can never be nice, but it’s a nicer feeling this year for the anniversary.

The site of the Stardust nightclub is now an artists' space. Pictures: Sam Boal/Collins

Louise Leech, who lost three siblings in the fire, William, 22, George,18, and Marcella, 16, McDermott, said it felt such a relief to mark this anniversary given they finally got the justice of the unlawful killing verdict for their loved ones. Ms Leech said since the verdict it had been a “surreal feeling”.

“Especially for our mother,” she said, referring to Bridget McDermott who long campaigned for justice for her three children. “We feel that since the verdict that now, she just said ‘that’s it, it’s done, it’s over’.

Where there’s no more campaigning and no more fighting. They’re at peace now. And we’re at peace. And we did all we can.

Stardust survivor Jimmy Fitzpatrick, who lost many of his friends in the disaster, said this year “feels so much different” to previous years. as the anniversary was not coinciding with another fight or waiting on the verdict in the inquest.

In the former site of the Stardust, an artist space recently opened with families saying each morning on the way in, the artists touch a special plaque dedicated to the victims of the fire. Mr Fitzpatrick has described the space as giving a fresh new beginning to the site of the Stardust.

He also referenced an ongoing Garda investigation which launched after the inquest verdicts and said he hoped “that would come to fruition”.

“For all my friends and colleagues involved in the Stardust, we feel that their loved ones have gone to rest because we got the justice that they deserved," he said.

“It feels like they’re some post-traumatic growth, if you like now, with the peace and the hope for the future.”