Campaign for fresh inquest: State has failed the Stardust fire victims

In 2006 the fearless investigative journalist Mary Raftery documented a protest by Stardust victims families at the site of the disaster in Dublin’s Artane district, describing how a passerby commented: “It’s time to move on.” Writing in The Irish Times, she characterised the crass remark as the latest in a long line of “wretched dismissals” endured by those whose lives were ripped apart on Valentine’s Day, 1981.

If she were still alive today, the writer and filmmaker noted for her groundbreaking documentary States of Fear would no doubt be shocked that official Ireland continues to dismiss the pain and suffering of Stardust families and survivors. More than 38 years since the fire claimed the lives of 48 people, the Stardust Victims’ Committee is stepping up efforts to get the inquest into the tragedy reopened.