Irish Examiner view: Families deserve huge credit

Stardust inquests

Relatives of those killed in the Stardust fire gather at the Garden of Remembrance in Dublin ahead of the first day of the inquest.

The old saw that justice delayed is justice denied had a sharper edge than usual yesterday morning.

That is because the families of those killed in the Stardust fire back in 1981 assembled yesterday morning before the opening session of the new inquests into the deaths, and they walked together to the Pillar Rooms at the Rotunda Hospital, where the inquests are to be held.

There was a resonance to the location where the families chose to meet — at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell St. In the 1960s, it was dedicated specifically to the memory of those who gave their lives in the cause of Irish freedom, but there could hardly have been a more appropriate place for the Stardust families to gather than a quiet part of Dublin dedicated to remembering those who are gone.

In a statement, those families acknowledged that yesterday would be an emotional day, which is not surprising. 

Over four decades have now passed since news emerged of the horrific fire in Artane in north Dublin which claimed 48 lives. 

Readers who are old enough will remember the shocking images broadcast on TV that evening of a blackened nightclub and the heartbreaking stories of individual families who lost sons and daughters in the fire.

The interior of the Stardust which went on fire on the morning of the February 14, 1981. Picture: Eamonn Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Those readers whose memories can reach all the way back to February 1981 may consider the twists and turns in their own lives since, the changes of direction, the disappointments and delights: The Stardust families have had similarly eventful lives, no doubt, but without the reassurance of closure when it comes to their loved ones.

To contend with that ongoing heartache and uncertainty, to go on with their own lives, and to continue fighting for the truth about their family members all the while has been a challenge most of us can hardly imagine. They deserve huge credit for their perseverance.

The coffins of four young people, who died in the fire in the Stardust disco in 1981, leave the Church of St Luke the Evangelist in Kilmore on Dublin's northside. The fire killed 48 young people. Picture: Eamonn Farrell

Before the families left the Garden of Remembrance yesterday, they might have read the words of Liam Mac Uistin carved on the back wall: ‘O generations of freedom remember us.’

The families have always remembered.