Stardust inquests hear of two people found dead 'holding hands'

One firefighter described finding the bodies of two people 'trying to comfort each other before they met their demise'.

Further harrowing testimony was heard by the jury from firefighters who rushed to the disco hall on the night of the fire which resulted in the deaths of 48 young people. File photo: Sasko Lazarov / RollingNews.ie

WARNING: Some readers may find the following report upsetting

Two people were found dead “holding hands”, while the remains of another were found “just two or three steps” from an exit door, the fresh Stardust inquests heard on Tuesday.

One fireman there on the night of the fire in the early hours of 14 February 1981, James Tormey, said that he saw “two bodies fused as one” and said he thought they “may have been trying to comfort each other before they met their demise”.

Separately, evidence read out from fireman Brian Haslam said: “I didn’t hear any screams until I got inside. Then I heard people calling for help.” 

Further harrowing testimony was heard by the jury from firefighters who rushed to the disco hall on the night of the fire which resulted in the deaths of 48 young people.

Dublin district coroner Dr Myra Cullinane, at several junctures, notified attendees that the evidence that would be heard would be distressing to both give and to hear, particularly for the families of victims in attendance. “Most of the evidence will contain distressing and potentially graphic detail,” she said.

“Please, be aware of that,” she added, as the retired firemen went on to provide the vivid and horrific details of their experiences on the night, as they all responded to the call to head to the Stardust in north Dublin.

On the way to the venue that night, Mr Tormey said they had little information as to what awaited them. “But we knew were going to the Stardust,” he said. “I was aware it was a disco, a dance hall. And there would be a large population at the attendance. If there was a fire there it would probably be serious.”

Prior to arrival, he and a colleague donned breathing apparatus by putting it on their back and strapping it on. “We put our sets on and strapped in, with face masks over our necks ready to go straight into the fire,” he said.

Looking at the dancefloor not long after entering the Stardust, Mr Tormey said it was covered with burning debris, along with a “massive glow and intense heat”.

He said:
I realised at that point, within that area and with no sign of people trapped and the temperature in there at that stage, the possibility of survival would’ve been very slim.

Des Fahy KC, for some of the families, put it to Mr Tormey: “Was that [dancefloor area] to your mind the most perilous, the most dangerous part of the building when you were there?” The retired fireman said it was.

Brian Parkes was a sub officer with the Dublin Fire Brigade attached to Tara Street and described a scene of chaos when his fire brigade arrived at the scene.

“Crowds were milling around,” he said. “Pointing into the fire to say colleagues are in there. I remember saying to the driver to be careful we don’t knock them down. They were in an awful state.” 

Mr Parkes and a number of other firemen entered the Stardust at a time when there were still people alive inside. Noel Hosback had identified several people in the bathrooms of the Stardust who were trapped. Weeks before, metal plates had been welded to the windows of these bathrooms blocking access to the outside.

Mr Parkes helped Mr Hosback take these people to safety and said that he “hooshed them out the window” after leading them down a passageway to get outside.

Mr Tormey said that the firefighters originally at the scene had the idea to try to use their fire engine to pull off these plates but this was soon abandoned as their efforts were ineffectual and it was deemed unsafe given the sheer number of people in the area.

Recovery operation

But the operation for the firefighters inside the Stardust would soon turn from a rescue mission to a recovery one.

Mr Parkes described a “systematic” operation to remove bodies from the Stardust by the firemen inside the building. Many of these bodies were unrecognisable, and it wasn’t possible to tell if they were male or female.

Mr Tormey also described the recovery operation for bodies of the deceased in the Stardust, including finding the torso of what he believed to be a man as he found a “gents watch” in the vicinity. “My feeling was that poor individual was two or three steps away from safety,” he said.

At another section, he described finding the bodies of two others.

“Their arms were around each other and their bodies were fused as one,” Mr Tormey said. “I thought at the time what those poor two people were thinking at that time. Trying to comfort each other before they met their demise.” 

It was another piece of evidence simply read to the court, from a fireman named William Redmond who passed away last year, that was similarly distressing.

In his original statement to the gardaí following the fire in 1981, Mr Redmond described the scene after the fire had come under control and emergency services were sweeping through to the Stardust searching for remains.

He saw two bodies huddled close together. “They were lying beside each other,” he said. “It looked like they were holding hands.”

The inquests continue Wednesday.